Duramax International Works with the Colombian Navy
Duramax International was recently in Colombia working with the Colombian Navy and Cotecmar to supply engineered marine equipment on their latest anti-guerilla combat ship. This heavily plated and armed vessel is used along the Colombian waterways to protect smaller more vulnerable vessels from harm.

Jose Ovies from Duramax International coordinated the engineering and resulting sale of several pieces of equipment from some of the Manufacturers which Duramax International represents. Amongst this equipment, was a complete heat exchange system engineered and manufactured by Duramax International’s parent company, Duramax Marine LLC.

The pictures are of the Vessel Nodriza which is being built by Cotecmar shipyard for the Colombian Navy. COTECMAR, offers advance solutions for the naval maritime and riverine industries, whose commercial activity is in the areas of design, construction, repair and maintenance of any kind of motor ships and maritime and fluvial artifacts. They have two shipyards and a Technical services unit located in Cartagena, Colombia, 180 miles from Panama Canal.

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Colombian Navy Project

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Duramax Sells a heat exchanger of seismic proportions
Hiram, Ohio – Making a surge in the marine market, Duramax Marine® LLC creates a DuraCooler® of seismic
proportions with its largest keel cooling system to date. Created for Astromaritima’s supply vessel, the Astro
Vermelho, the DuraCooler measures 32 tubes wide by 16 feet long. A first of its size for Duramax Marine; the
previous largest DuraCooler was 24 tubes wide.

Headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Astromaritima owns and operates supply vessels for the oil company
Petrobras. Astromaritima is familiar with the high quality of Duramax Marine’s work. Two years ago Duramax
Marine installed a series of DuraCoolers on the supply vessel, Astro Pargo. Astromaritima was so pleased with
the overall performance of the DuraCoolers that when it came time to modify and repower another one of their
vessels, the Astro Vermelho, Duramax Marine was given foremost consideration despite strong competition.

“The service provided by Duramax Marine has been excellent, and the results of the DuraCoolers now on the
Astro Pargo and the Astro Vermelho are extremely beneficial for our company,” as stated by Astromaritima’s
technical department.

Modifying the Astro Vermelho was more complicated than the previous modification of the Astro Pargo.
Duramax Marine’s engineers had to approach the challenge creatively and aggressively. Taking into
consideration the cooling requirements, available hull space and technical preference, the specified DuraCooler
was configured at a width of 32 tubes. Against the clock, new production equipment was configured and built,
and a series of four DuraCoolers were successfully manufactured, delivered and installed on time.

Results of the first 32 tube Duracooler installation on the Astro Vermehlo were so good it prompted
Astromaritima to install DuraCoolers for the modification of their next two supply vessels; the Astro Enxova and
the Astro Guaricema. This project is currently under construction at Transnave shipyard.

The DuraCooler’s success is the result of a research and development program Duramax Marine initiated in
1997 to identify areas of improvement for the square-headed outboard keel cooler. Flow pattern studies
determined that the outside tubes in traditional keel cooler designs could be improved to increase flow efficiency.
Duramax Marine began to develop a more efficient header design. Duramax engineered a DuraCooler featuring a
new streamlined header designed to further enhance interior and exterior flow patterns and, at the same time,

reduce the overall pressure drop within the keel cooler unit. In the new header, engine coolant is directed more
efficiently to tubes increasing the heat transfer efficiency of the DuraCooler. Based on actual testing, coolant
flow distribution in the outer tubes increased 35% after the modifications and heat rejection in the outer tubes
jumped 45%. Overall heat transfer in the DuraCooler increased 17% over a traditionally designed unit of equal
size.

Made of 90/10 cupro-nickel tubing, the DuraCooler is resistant to flow erosion and has antifouling properties
as well. DuraCoolers are easy to install and available with through-hull type fittings or non-through-hull flange
mounts.

The Astro Vermelho’s DuraCoolers were installed at the Transnave shipyard in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Originally built in the mid-1980s, the Astro Vermelho was cut and its overall length increased by 9.1 meters to its
current length of 57.16 meters. The vessel was repowered from 2,600 HP to 4,660 HP with brand new MAK
Caterpillar diesel engines. The ship’s bow thrusters were replaced with two variable pitch bow thrusters and one
variable pitch stern thruster. The conventional drive shaft line was replaced with two CPP shaft lines. And, of
course, it now has the first series of 32 tube wide DuraCoolers by Duramax Marine.

Duramax Marine LLC is a world leader in providing solutions for customer-driven marine services including
Johnson Cutless® bearings, heat exchange systems, shaft sealing and fendering systems. Duramax Marine has a
worldwide network of distributors and warehouses, and exports to more than 50 countries around the world.
Duramax Marine prides itself on its ability to engineer solutions to customer’s specific marine needs. For more
information on our product lines, contact Duramax Marine at www.DuramaxMarine.com.

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Project Photos

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