Global Alignment & Engine Service performed vibration measurements on miscellaneous machinery on board of a ferry. These measurements were carried out in order to determine if bearing changes could be postponed until the next repair period.
The client for which we performed the vibrational measurements is one of the world’s biggest ferry companies. They offer a wide range of frequent, fast and comfortable ferry services around the UK, Ireland, The Netherlands, France, Scandinavia and the Baltic.
Our customer approached us with the questions if we could assess the bearing conditions on some of their machines on board one of their ferries. This to ensure that the bearings are still in good condition. Vibration measurement is a proven method to assess bearing conditions without actually dismounting or opening up the bearing. We performed the measurement when vessel was in port. We performed the measurements on the bow thrusters, auxiliary generator and main generators. After we finished the measurements, the collected data was analyzed and a full service report was written and handed to our customer. Good news: all bearings were in good condition and ready for further service.
To avoid faulty measurements we needed a time window in which there were no cargo operations. You can imagine that when large trucks are driving up and down the loading ramp this creates unwanted vibrations throughout the ship that can interfere with our measurements. Thanks to perfect coordination between the ship’s engine room crew and ship’s deck crew this was arranged.
