Thordon Bearings secures a second major Mexican Navy contract for the supply of its water-lubricated SXL wear rings for retrofit installation to the waterjet propulsion nozzles on 25 interceptor patrol vessels.
The contract follows the success of extensive trials in which the SXL material replaced the use of other anti-corrosive coatings in waterjet impeller housings, resulting in increased resistance to cavitation induced corrosion.
Rotary Parts, Thordon’s authorized distributor in Mexico, is supplying the housings for 25 Polaris and Polaris II fast patrol boats. The scope of supply is for 440mm(15.8in) outside diameter, 160mm(6.3in) long SXL wear rings for each impeller housing. Installation is taking place during routine drydocking at various Mexican Navy sites along both the Pacific and Gulf coasts.
“We received an initial contract in May 2023 for 50 SXL wear rings and this has now been followed by a second contract for another 75 units,” said William Lugardo, Thordon Specialist at Rotary Parts.  “As soon as the main contract was confirmed, we began with the impeller housing repairs to ensure the optimum surface area prior to machining Thordon SXL material. We have completed the first batch of SXL wear ring installations and now working on the second.”
Lugardo explained Rotary Parts recommended the use of the SXL material to replace the coating system of the impeller housing to better protect the surface area against corrosion and propeller cavitation. Typically, the inner housing of a waterjet impeller needs a re-coat every three months to maintain propulsion efficiency. “They tried using different types of coatings but without success,” he said.
The contract is to date Thordon Bearings’ largest marine contract in Mexico in 2023 and the Canadian company is hopeful of securing further orders for the same application in 2024.