A diver/technician team from Hydrex performed a successful propeller blade cropping operation on a 229-meter bulker under difficult weather circumstances, with the vessel was at anchorage in Punta Del Este.
When the propeller blades of the bulker were damaged, a fast on-site solution was needed to restore the propeller’s balance with a minimal loss of efficiency. Underwater cropping was chosen as the solution to avoid an extended off-hire period to go to drydock.
At the time of the repair a fast current was running, leaving only a limited window available for divers to safely perform the operation. The operation was divided into parts and spread out over two days.
Underwater inspection revealed that three of the four blades were severely bent. The divers cropped the damaged blades and ground their edges to give them the correct shape. The fourth blade, which had not been damaged, was also cropped to keep the propeller’s balance. After cropping the blades were polished to make sure that any remaining loss of efficiency would be minimal.