Abstract: Non-contacting spiral groove face seal for shafts rotating at high pressures and high speeds with combination of two groove patterns on one of the two sealing faces of mating sealing rings; one pattern relatively deep, the other relatively shallow. The relatively deep spiral-shaped groove pattern is optimized for hydrodynamic operation and on shaft rotation pumps the sealed fluid in-between sealing faces to set the running clearance. The relatively shallow pattern is designed to prevent a friction lock of the sealing faces hydrostatically at starts and stops of shaft rotation by admitting controlled amount of the sealed fluid between the sealing faces when the shaft is at or near to a stationary condition.