Wärtsilä’s new Sea-Master promises real-time drivetrain oversight yielding important operational data. A recent press release described “digital technology coupled with composite components and existing seals” in a system that “can be applied to open- and closed-loop water-lubricated stern tubes, as well as closed-loop oil-lubricated stern tubes.”
Sea-Master not only displays shaft line status, but also can warn of impending failure, based on bearing temperature, lubrication rates and other factors. Reduced dry dock time is one potential benefit of this technology. Since the data is accepted by classification societies, their surveyors would no longer need to systematically remove the tail shaft for inspection.
