Do you own a fishing vessel and are you operating in US waters? Then you have to meet the regulations of the Small Vessel General Permit (sVGP). The sVGP indicates that all commercial fishing vessels have to sail with Environmentally Acceptable Lubricants (EALs) or have to avoid an oil-to-water interface. In this blog we give tips about which sealing solutions are in compliance with the sVGP and how they deliver you Peace of Mind!
sVGP controls incidental discharges for vessels that are less than 79 feet (24 metres), and commercial fishing vessels. The term ‘incidental discharges’ includes a range of waste water discharges from vessels during normal operations. Examples are ballast water and bilge water.
To make your fishing vessel sVGP compliant, you can apply our Supreme Standard® stern tube seal. This sealing solution works with EALs and can be delivered as an aft and forward seal. If you want to sail with EALs, we suggest this stern tube seal with the addition of several customised options, such as an Hard Metal Layer and net cutters.
However, if you don’t want to sail with EALs, we also offer the Supreme Ventus®. This air-type seal is in compliance with the sVGP, works with mineral oils and guarantees zero emissions of oil. Another factor that is convenient for fishing vessels, is the pressure compensation for every draught. Sometimes a fishing vessel has more fish on board which makes the ship heavier. This results in sailing deeper and the Supreme Ventus stern tube seal is applicable to all types of draughts.
Looking for more information? Download our practical guide for ship owners!
For fishing vessels we recommend using this sealing solution with the addition of the following options:
Hard Metal Layer
To lengthen the lifetime of the liner, we advise adding a Hard Metal Layer (HML) to the seal. This HML is applied to the liner using HVOF spraying. Under strictly controlled production conditions, the HML is formed with a high adhesive strength and a porosity of less than 1%, and prevents crevice corrosion which can occur on ceramic layers.
Net cutters
Fishing vessels often sail in areas where fishing lines, nets or small ropes can be loose in the water and this could damage the seal. To avoid this, net cutters can be welded to the rope guard. Lagersmit offers stainless steel net cutters that sever fishing lines before they enter the aft seal area.
Wire winders
Another option to prevent damage from fishing lines is to install a wire winder to the propeller hub. The wire winder has an L-shaped cross section and to make sure no lines can slip in, the space between the rope guard and the wire winder is kept as small as possible.
Dirt barrier
Damage to the seal caused by large abrasive particles can be avoided by adding a dirt barrier to the seal. The dirt barrier works as an axial lip seal, preventing large abrasive particles and small fishing lines from entering the seal.