A Comparative Assessment of Boat Faulty Shaft Seal to Eradicate Boat Mishap's in Oporoza Community, Delta State, Nigeria

The aim of this study is to comparatively assess faulty shaft seal in Boats, in order to eradicate Boat mishaps in Oporoza community. Collating the needed data for risk matrix and shaft seal failure analysis, a real-time experimental data collection has been done on three cases in boat engines, by simulating likely faults such as Case A: impeller fouling, Case B: air cooler blockage, and Case C: Filter fouling, to determine variations in engine parameters with records collected showing Case A: impeller fouling had the lowest impact severity with low risk operation. Records showed Leakages 27.4%, excessive wear 20.8%, installation error 14.2%, corrosion 17.9%, and material degradation 17.95% as the prevalent causes of Boat mishaps in Oporozacommunity. An analysis of surveyed questionnaires from Boat operators in Oporoza community was carried out and participants provided data. Failure analysis and risk matrix were used to provide insight into the experiences of boat operators. Reasons for mechanical shaft seal failure causing boat mishaps was investigated using one hundred and six (106) responses from respondents and the Cronbach’s alpha of reliability of the three (3) cases was 0.9680, which indicated an excellent internal consistency among the three (3) cases with minimum measured error. Consequences of boat mechanical shaft seal were:Operational efficiency 36.8%, Financial performance 21.7%, crew well-being and impact on environmental safety 19.8%. The contributing factor to boat mishaps recorded the quality of material of the seal 32.1% and maintenance practices at 17.9%. The study showed that the root cause of Boat Mishap is caused by Mechanical factor (operational efficiency) at 36.8%: Engine malfunction which is as a result of faulty mechanical shaft seal and can be eradicated using non-faulty impeller and non-faulty mechanical shaft seal using a good maintenance practice.