Chinese Bearing Supplier Benefits from CCS Certification

Vesconite Bearings has received its China Classification Society (CCS) Certificate of Works Approval.

This was announced by Vesconite Bearings Quality Control Manager Jaco Prinsloo, who notes that the certification is valid for four years and is one of the certifications that clients request to confirm that Vesconite and Vesconite Hilube rudder bearings and stern tubes (including its Superclad bearings) meet certain quality and safety standards.

The certification company required Vesconite Bearings’ ISO 9001:2015 approval, material specification sheets for its bearing materials and various other company documents, Prinsloo explains.

A manufacturing facility audit was then conducted by a shipping surveyor/engineer and, once the CCS was satisfied with the documentation and the manufacturing facility audit, the certification was granted.

Commercial vessels are usually classed and have to adhere to the class standards in order to ensure that the ship is safe and seaworthy, and Vesconite Bearings has certifications from Bureau Veritas, DNV-GL, Lloyds Register, NKK, RINA and ABS, in addition to the CCS certification that it recently received.

“Vesconite Bearings frequently gets requests to send the relevant approval certificate with its offer or order,” notes Marine Application Engineer Monique Kooij.

“Bushings are critical spare parts on a vessel, and it is important that good-quality bushings are used,” she says, noting that Vesconite and Vesconite Hilube bushings are approved by all the important class societies and this gives its customers confidence that Vesconite Bearings’ bushings are of high quality and have all the right characteristics for this critical application.

The CCS certification is important for Vesconite Bearings, since the company is enlarging its footprint in the commercial new-build sector, which is dominated by Asian shipyards.

China is responsible for around 44% of global commercial ship building at present, with South Korea and Japan also playing important roles in global commercial ship production.

Various traditional ship-building hubs also continue to play a role in ship building and repair.