Friday, June 5, 2015

Specialty motors critical in keeping industry afloat



When large specialty motors catastrophically fail at sea, finding a suitable replacement within days – not months – is critical to bring production back online and minimize loss of thousands of dollars of revenue, according to motor repair and manufacturer Louis Allis Company.

Louis Allis stepped in to help Sealion Shipping Ltd when its aft starboard azimuth thruster failed in the waters off Mexico, rendering the vessel’s dynamic positioning (DP) system inoperable.

As a provider of onshore, offshore and sub-sea support to the oil and gas industry, each support vessel in the fleet utilizes DP as a standard feature to carry a diverse range of equipment, cargoes, and personnel to offshore drilling rigs and platforms, the statement said. DP requires the use of the azimuth thrusters along with sophisticated GPS reference and other sensors.

So when the aft starboard motor failed, the Sealion Shipping support vessel could no longer operate in DP.

Sealion contacted the motor manufacturer, ABB, and was told it would have to be removed and sent to a central repair facility in France. The company estimated that to ship the motor from Mexico to France and back, along with time for repair, would have taken 4-5 months. New motors from just about any manufacturer can take 20 - 26 weeks to arrive.

"That was not a situation that we could live with," says a spokesperson for Sealion Shipping. "Meanwhile, we turned our attention to finding a company that could supply us with an alternative motor very quickly."

Sealion Shipping looked to source a used, shore-side industrial motor. A new marine-duty motor would take several months to build and surplus units were scarce. The search was limited to North America due to the ship’s location.

During the search, Sealion Shipping contacted the Louis Allis Company. For more than 110 years, the Louis Allis Company has been manufacturing and repairing this type of motor. The company manufactures specialty motors up to 20,000 horsepower, along with standard NEMA motors, in-stock recertified units, and motor repair services.

Louis Allis provided a 3,500 HP motor that could be

delivered within the 10 days it would take the vessel to return to port. Although the main propulsion motors were 2-speed, the replacement was single-speed. Fortunately, it was adequate for the DP and the ship’s maneuvering capabilities.

To facilitate speed of delivery, Louis Allis says it stocks used and surplus specialty motors it has purchased and refurbished. This includes taking the motor completely apart, cleaning it, replacing the bearings, varnish coating the windings, rebalancing, reassembling and conducting sophisticated testing. These units are ready for delivery at a moment’s notice.

The replacement motor was shipped by Louis Allis and arrived within the 10 days.

"They managed to locate a suitable replacement motor very quickly, within a few days," says Sealion Shipping’s spokesperson.


Louis Allis had 3,500 HP motor in its inventory that could be delivered within the 10 days it would take the vessel to return to port. Although the main propulsion motors were 2-speed, the replacement was single-speed. Fortunately, it was adequate for the DP and the ship's maneuvering capabilities.


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