The What:
VLCCs delivered by Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) in the past 18 months experienced or some cracks have been identified.
Who are affected?
Ship owners who have a similar ship design have been prompted to inspect and in some cases, repairs have been carried out. It is estimated that the number of ships are 35 which required either inspection or repair work.
How and Who Found those Rudder Cracks?
DHT holdings, as a part of routine inspection while the vessel still remains under warranty period – noted a crack on the port side of rudder. Reports claim that the first such crack was noticed some four months ago. The 299,900 dwt DHT Jaguar (built 2015) was the first of its six new buildings, which experienced and thus triggered an inspection to identify the rudder cracks. A second sister vessel — believed to be the newbuilding DHT Leopard — was also found to have been affected. But while the remaining four of the company’s new buildings — the last of which delivers on 4 January — found no evidence of the problem, DHT elected to have the materials replaced to avoid any later issues. DHT co-chief executive Svein Moxnes Harfjeld confirms these details are correct, as reported by Trade winds.
Extent of Repairs:
In general, the extent of repair work needed varied from replacing the complete material of rudder before a vessel’s delivery to replacing steel plating on the rudder for in-service ships. Reports claim that two in-service tankers have been repaired and one is understood to be undergoing work to replace steel on the rudder and sealant around an inspection window after metre-long cracks were found. The cracking is being described by owners as a design issue which “should not have occurred”. But the repairs needed to fix it are said to be relatively simple and inexpensive to undertake.
Who Were the Ship Owners?
The majority of these VLCCs whose rudder is likely to have a crack or a material problem are owned by Greek Ship Owners. Some Owners commented that they are made aware of the problem which are related to specific rudder suppliers.
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Source: TradeWinds
