News - Marine & Offshore

Metalock Brasil has just completed another high-complexity international project, reinforcing its expertise in onboard field machining services. This time, the mission took place aboard an oil tanker during its voyage between the ports of Cape Town, South Africa, and Vadinar, India, focusing on the machining of the auxiliary engine’s crankpin.

The work began while the vessel was still loading cargo in Brazil, with technical inspection conducted by Metalock Brasil specialists. These included dimensional checks, run-out tests to identify misalignment, magnaflux testing for surface crack detection, and surface hardness analysis — all aimed at evaluating the condition of the crankpin and determining the feasibility of repair.

Once the viability of the recovery through superficial machining was confirmed, the Metalock team developed a detailed logistics plan to carry out the service at sea, within the tight deadline before the vessel’s arrival at its final destination.

The solution involved preparing all necessary equipment in advance at the company’s workshop in Brazil, disassembling the tools for transport in special cases, and dispatching both the technical team and the tools to South Africa. There, the professionals boarded a service boat and were transferred to the vessel during its brief call in Cape Town.

Throughout the maritime journey to India, the technicians performed the superficial machining, radius adjustments, dimensional verifications, and final polishing — successfully restoring the crankpin’s operational conditions and meeting the required specifications for hardness and ovality.

At the end of the operation, Metalock Brasil’s technicians, all holding valid seaman’s books (international navigation documents), completed the service with technical success and recognition from the international shipowner, marking yet another mission accomplished with precision and safety.