The owners of this ferry installed Metal Debris Detectors on all of its ferries after an engine failure.
One of the larger ferries in the fleet suffered a serious crankshaft failure as a result of a clutch problem. The failure occurred in the high passenger season and resulted in may thousands of dollars in repair costs.
After the repairs were complete, the marine superintendent installed Metal Debris Detector on both main engine.
Approximately one year later the Metal Debris Detector on the other engine indicated there was metal the engine lubricating oil. The engine was immediately shut down.
The internal inspection of the engine revealed the initial signs of a thrust bearing failure. This is the same failure that had occurred on the other engine one year earlier.
The bearing shell was removed, the crankshaft
journal only required cleaning. The vessel sailed on schedule
with only a few hundred dollars in repair parts costs.
Had this problem went undetected, the extent of the damage would
probably be the same as the first failure with the same down time
and the same high repair cost.
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