Working Conditions Aboard the John-G-Munson

The oil-to-water lubricated tailshaft conversion Thordon Bearings carried out last year to the 26,260dwt Great Lakes Fleet-managed bulk carrier SS John G. Munson has successfully completed its first season as a diesel-powered ship. The shaft conversion of the 1952-built self-unloader formed a key part of the mammoth 12-month power conversion project completed last year by Fincantieri’s Bay Shipbuilding yard, in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, U.S.A. The vessel’s steam propulsion plant was replaced with an energy efficient medium-speed diesel arrangement. Major works also included the removal and replacement of the vessels’ tailshaft, stern tube, propeller and hub. Thordon Bearings’ supplied its COMPAC water lubricated propeller shaft bearings, a Water Quality Package, which conditions the lubricating water, and shaft protection system ThorShield.