Trelleborg gasket to help protect museum ship

Trelleborg, Sweden – Trelleborg AB has supplied a Gina gasket to the floating dry dock which protects the renowned museum ship, Pommern, in the Mariehamn Maritime Museum, Åland Islands, Finland.

The Swedish rubber engineering group said its marine and infrastructure operation developed a “specially-designed” Gina gasket (G110-80) for the dry deck, which was constructed by EE Engineering to provide a “purpose-built leak-free alternative to a standard D-fender.”

According to Trelleborg, only one Gina gasket is required in the deck – as opposed to several gaskets needed in the D-fender – to obtain similar results.

The gasket offers “a watertight closure, greater tolerance bandwidth and low jacking force due to its various levels of hardness,” explained Richard Hepworth, president of Trelleborg’s marine and infrastructure operation.

In addition, Trelleborg also supplied its low friction, wear resistant UHMW-PE fender panels, which guide the floating dry dock door into its recess before the Gina gasket is compressed and closes off the dry dock.

To seal the dry dock door, the Gina gasket is made from natural rubber combined with various levels of hardness to accommodate for the variation in hydrostatic pressure and is supplied as a U- frame.

The fender panels were faced with Trelleborg's ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene UHMW-PE,which is suitable for heavy duty applications. It combines very low friction with excellent impact strength and a wear resistance superior to that of steel.

Built in 1903, Pommern is the only four-masted steel merchant barque in the world left in its original state.

After sailing for over 70 years, the ship has provided the centerpiece to the museum since 1957.

The construction of the new dry deck was a central part of a significant investment made to refurbish and preserve the ship.