Our vessels are all meticulously maintained and serviced to a precise schedule but things can still occasionally go wrong. Unfortunately this happened last month, not once but twice!
Here’s how our team were able to adapt and overcome the challenges they were faced with.
The first test they were faced with was when CRC Galaxy suffered a main drive shaft failure.
The vessel has very low hours and the shaft should have lasted several thousand more hours so it was a situation we had not expected to be in. The lead time for the part was given as a minimum of 7 days, but could possibly be up to 14! This was not an option for CRC!
Following many hours of several people on the phone, some of our superb suppliers pulled together and built a brand new shaft in a matter of hours. The final complication was the fact it was being made in Scotland!
Instantly our driver took to the road and the part arrived in Grimsby where the vessel is currently operating. It was then promptly fitted and sea trialled and the vessel was back operating at 05:00 that morning with minimal disruption to the project.
Our next challenge came following reports from our skipper onboard CRC Vulcan on a Thursday afternoon that there was an unusual noise coming from the starboard engine, we immediately shut the engine down and sent East Coast Diesels to investigate further.
Following their investigation it was discovered that the camshaft bearing had failed.
Our team quickly sprung into action, CRC Galaxy was mobilised from Ipswich to cover the project, the spare parts were ordered from Scania UK and one of our team mobilised instantly to Lancashire to collect these from their distribution warehouse and they were back onboard the boat by 13:00 Friday and fitted.
However further tests and investigations found the camshaft was irreparable and a new camshaft was required.
With the support of Alicat Workboats the decision was made at 08:00 Saturday to remove the engine from the vessel with the plan to strip it down and rebuild with new camshaft and gaskets. But in the meantime a spare secondhand engine was sourced from Iceni Marine, with the help from Diverse Marine and was delivered by 12:00.
Sunday was used to prepare the vessel ready to receive it’s new engine and Monday it was full steam ahead.
To be on the safe side 2 x new turbos, new filters all round, and all fluids were replaced. The gearbox was removed from the faulty engine and fitted to the new engine and at 14:00 the engine was craned into the vessel and connected. The engine was back up and running by 19:00 and sea trials commenced.
CRC Vulcan signed off ready for operation and back on the project Tuesday morning!
At Commercial Rib Charter we not only pride ourselves on our strong client relationships but also our trusted supplier relationships and on this occasion in particular it shows just how instrumental this is!
We would like to say a massive thank you to our suppliers and all parties involved.
