Thruster Seals

The newly introduced Kobelco Eagle BTX Barrier Thruster Seal has
been released after factory testing. The BTX seal utilizes the
proven design of the Kobelco Eagle CX type seal. After hundreds of
conversions to the CX type seal, our customers asked Kobelco to
provide a seal that would eliminate the potential for pollution. The
Kobelco Eagle factory responded with a seal that utilizes a barrier
of non polluting TH-100 gear lubricant to separate the mineral oil in
the gear casing from the sea water.

The CX type seal has proven extremely reliable for thrusters. With
the installation of the BTX type seal, an even higher level of
protection is provided. Now in the unlikely event that the seal were
to leak, only non polluting TH-100 will enter the water. Conversely,
if seawater were to leak past the water seals, it will enter the
barrier seal chamber, where it will mix completely with the TH-100
rather than entering the gear casing.

The seal conversion is an easy process, usually just a simple swap
of the existing seal assembly. Thruster seal conversions have been
completed on RR 950, 1350, 1650 and 2000 size thrusters along
with those of some of the other manufacturer's.