At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Northeast United States, in May 2020, Goltens received a call from Bayonne Drydock (Bayonne Drydock and Repair Corp.) to attend for inspection and to make a proposal to remove a damaged shaft seal liner on the USNS Red Cloud, one of the US Military Sealift Command’s nineteen large, medium-speed, roll-on/roll-off ships.
In-Place Machining specialist
Goltens deployed its In-Place Machining specialist to New Jersey, observing all of the special precautions required to stay safe. Goltens determined that the shaft seal liner could be removed from the shaft, but due to the short space between the shaft and shaft housing, special tooling and brackets would have to be fabricated at Goltens Miami, in order to carry out the on-site machining.
Having all of the required measurements, Goltens’ specialist returned to Miami to fabricate the mounting brackets and re-purposed one of their milling machines, to mill across the outside liner surface to split the liner.
Ensuring no damage to propeller shaft surface
After preparations were complete, the team arrived on site, observing as many precautions as possible
While Goltens is renowned for its ability to conduct high precision journal repairs, this project was not as delicate, but still required a high degree of care and control, so as to ensure the propeller shaft surface was not damaged during the machining of the liner.
After preparations were complete, the team arrived on site, observing as many precautions as possible and then, proceeded with mounting the prefabricated brackets and milling machinery to begin the works.
Shaft seal liner removal
The liner removal was completed using two shifts of machinists, working around the clock. Goltens completed the repair successfully over an 11-day period onsite in Bayonne and the shaft was left in good condition with no damage from the removal process.
Goltens’ front line workers continue to perform essential service for the world’s military and merchant fleets during these trying times. This was another successful job completed safely by Goltens during the COVID-19 pandemic.
