The Motorship Dec2011

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Motorship

THE

DECEMBER 2011 Informing Shipping Professionals since 1920

Vol. 92

Issue 1088

SET OUT TO SEA WITH

ENERGY-EFFICIENT PUMPS

FROM GRUNDFOS



COATINGS & CORRISION

18 www.motorship.com December 2011

The right hull coating can, claim several paint

suppliers, make a real difference to a ship’s fuel

consumption and environmental performance,

through lowering hull resistance, and maintaining

smoothness throughout the life of the coating.

The problem with such claims is how to provetheir validity. It is not difficult to prove that, after

drydocking and recoating with a new product, fuel

consumption is lowered; that is almost inevitable. But

ship operators need to know that the superior

performance is being maintained.

Norwegian manufacturer Jotun announced earlier

this year (see The Motorship , May 2011) that it was

prepared to guarantee its HPS system by offering

to refund the extra cost if the savings were not

maintained within agreed limits throughout a 60-

month period. This, according to Jotun, can be proved

by analysis of vessel speed, wind, draught and

shaft power.

DEMONSTRABLE IMPROVEMENTS

Jotun has been joined on providing a method of

quantifying claimed improvements by International

Paints. International has joined forces with BMT Argoss

to, as the company puts it, “deliver demonstrable and

transparent improvements in performance, efficiency

and environmental emissions for the global

shipping fleet.”

The partnership is based in International’s fouling

control coatings in conjunction with the BMT

SmartServices system, to provide a measurable

reduction in energy use and CO2 emissions. The BMT

system is intended to independently monitor andreport the performance of vessels. It is based on

BMT’s SmartPower onboard, real-time performance

monitoring and reporting system which acquires and

records data automatically from ship sensors and

provides ship performance information to the crew

and shore based management.

The package combines the BMT system with

either International Intersmooth SPC, which is a

self-polishing copolymer biocidal antifouling, claimed

to be unique in its formulation and benefits, or

Intersleek, International’s latest fluoropolymer foul

release coating. These benefits include, for

Intersmooth SPC, a 4% saving based on observations

on some 5,000 drydockings of 50 ships, and for

Intersleek, fuel and emission savings of up to 9%,

based on an analysis by Energy & Environmental

Research Associates.

Han Wensink, managing director of BMT Argoss

says: “BMT SmartServices will clearly and trans-

parently demonstrate any in-service performance

changes when International Paint’s hull coatings have

been used. Equipped with a user friendly Web based

interface and drawing on BMT’s 24/7 access to high

quality metocean data, the new system can play a

major role in improving operational efficiency of the

global shipping fleet.”

Paul Robbins, worldwide marine marketing director

at International Paint adds: “We are confident that our

high performance biocidal antifoulings and foul

release coatings when used in conjunction with BMT

Smartservices will deliver quantifiable added value for

ship owner and operators. One of the reasons we

partnered with BMT is that the new system can

accurately determine total performance levels by

recording over 30,000 readings per day, providing

complete transparency and evidence to owners and

operators of the performance improvements ouradvanced hull coatings technology can deliver. The

BMT system can be installed at newbuilding or as a

retro-fit and by utilising International Paint’s and BMT’s

global networks, in-service support will be provided

at every stage throughout the life of the coating

and the monitoring system.”

LOW FRICTION FOR FUTURE SHIPS

Similar, or even greater, benefits are claimed by

Japanese company Chugoku Marine Paint for its

low-friction Seaflo Neo hull paint. The claims have

been confirmed by ship operator Mitsui OSK Lines

which has analysed the results of an onboard test of

the paint applied to a newbuilding vessel, and

confirmed that the new paint offers improvements in

fuel efficiency compared to other paints. MOL is

adopting Seaflo Neo for its environmentally-friendly

shipbuilding programme, known as the Sempaku Ishin

next-generation vessel concept. It is initially being

used on two car carrier newbuildings.

MOL says that the paint will contribute to the

reduction of CO2 emissions from its vessels. As friction

between the hull and the water accounts for the

majority of resistance, reducing friction drag can

be shown to be effective in reducing CO2 emissionsduring vessel operation. The two newbuildings

adopting the new paint are a pair of car carriers, both

of 6,400 standard passenger car unit capacity, built by

Quantifiable results

from hull coatingsSmooth, low-resistance hull coatings are being offered tothe market as ways of saving fuel costs and cutting harmfulemissions in addition to their traditional anti-fouling role;but, we ask, is it possible to prove the benefits of usinga premium coating?

MOL’s ‘Brilliant Ace’, which has demonstrated the benefits of Seaflo Neo

Deliver demonstrableand transparentimprovements inperformance, efficiencyand environmental

emissions for theglobal shipping fleet

‘

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COATINGS & CORRISION

20 www.motorship.com December 2011

shipowners have set their own environmental targets

in an effort to reduce CO2 emissions. But, finding

effective ways to meet these targets can be a

challenge, and that’s where Hempel’s complete

fouling control concept can help.”

At a previous drydocking, the five VLCCs were coated

with a standard fouling release silicone product.

During the current conversion, Hempasil Nexus X-Tend,

a tiecoat for repair and touch-up, will be an integrated

part of the new paint system. “Nexus X-Tend makes

using Hempasil X3 as simple as using a conventional

anti-fouling coating,” says Rasmussen. “In the past,

spot repair was time consuming and complex and

oftenled to substandard results, such as poor adhesion

between coats.”

TEN YEAR COATING WARRANTY

Another hull coating with a warranty comes from the

Belgian brand Ecospeed. In this case, it is durability

that is guaranteed, with a 10-year period covered,

though Ecospeed believes the paint should last the

lifetime of the ship.

The paint is often applied to rudders as well as hull

surfaces, and Ecospeed claims a reference list of over

70 full underwater hulls and 135 rudders. The paint is

described as an environmentally safe underwater hullcoating system which improves a ship’s performance

and provides it with long-term protection. The

company says it is easy to apply, provides superior

protection, offers a smooth surface for hydrodynamic

optimisation and minimizes long term maintenance

of the underwater surfaces. Ecospeed’s improved

hydrodynamic characteristics result in increased

fuel efficiency. This has been shown in several cruise

vessel applications, where the Ecospeed-coated ships

are able to run at normal speeds with reduced

propulsion power.

Among the successful case studies reported by the

company is the Antarctic research ship RRS Ernest

Shackleton , to which Ecospeed hull coating was

applied in October 2009. A 2011 drydocking showed

that, despite having operated in 2.5m ice on several

occasions, the coating was mostly intact with only

small areas of touch-up required. Some parts of the

underwater surfaces, including the rudder, had been

painted with traditional coatings rather than Ecospeed,

and the drydocking showed these areas to have

suffered severe corrosion and mechanical damage.

Hamburg-based operator Ernst Russ has a fleet of

five 1999-built ro-ro ships, on which the rudders had

a history of cavitation damage, said to result from

higher than average propeller speeds. Standard epoxy

coatings proved inadequate, and exhibited damagein the first intermediate docking, two or three years

after launch.

One of the ships, the Elisabeth Russ , received

Ecospeed coating on her rudder as an experiment

during a 2004 docking. Despite receiving only two

coats, and less preparation than recommended, the

trial is reported to have been entirely successful, with

the coating holding firm in 2007, and still intact when

the ship was docked again in 2011. All five ships now

have Ecospeed applied to the rudder blades, with

highly satisfactory results.

Grzegorz Girjat, superintendent at Ernst Russ,

reports: “I would say for me it is quite clear. Had we

German filter supplier Armaturen-Wolff says that

it has developed, with a partner company, a

superior method of protecting seawater filters

against corrosion.

Galvanic corrosion protection is commonly

applied to low-budget filter systems, where the

zinc coating from hot-dip galvanising serves as a

sacrificial anode. This has the disadvantage of a

limited life; the zinc will locally dissolve within a

few years. The use of corrosion-resistant alloys is

a highly satisfactory, though expensive, solution,

which because of the cost is normally used for the

filter element only.

Armaturen-Wolff says that it can offer another

solution, namely an FBE (fusion-bonded epoxy)

powder coating. The filter is sand-blasted andwashed before being sprayed with epoxy powder

at a controlled temperature, to a film thickness of

250-500m. The smooth sealed surface prevents

encrustation by salts and organic substance, and

remains effective as long as the layer remains

intact.

For an even longer lifetime, Armaturen-Wolff

offers a 4.0mm thick hard rubber lining, which is

directly vulcanised onto the filter. The company

claims that the lifetime can equal the economical

life of the vessel itself, and because of the long life

and low maintenance requirement the cost can

prove highly competitive.

The rubber lining is bonded to the filter after all

edges and weld seams have been rounded off,

with no cavities or large pores. After sandblasting

and application of a bonding agent, the lining

material is cut to size and fitted into the filter,before the entire filter is put into an autoclave

for curing.

Corrosion protection for seawater filters

One of Vale’s VLOCs being coated with Hempasil X3 over theoriginal coating and the yellow coloured tie-coat Nexus X-Tend

Belgian Navy vessel, after sailing for five years withEcospeed coating on the underwater hull surfaces

Minaminippori Shipbuilding. The Brilliant Ace was

completed in March 2011, and the Eternal Ace four

months later.

The main characteristic of Seaflo Neo is said to be

the high smoothness of their paint film surface, the

result of a newly developed low-viscosity hydrolysed

polymer. The ultra-smooth finish is intended to

minimise friction drag, improving fuel efficiency by

3% to 5% compared to an identical vessel with a

conventional hull coating. Seaflo Neo is claimed to be

very low in volatile organic compounds (VOCs), a

major source of air pollution.

ANTIFOULING FOR CONVERSIONS

Danish company Hempel is currently supplying

150,000 litres of its third generation fouling release

coating, Hempasil X3, as part of a five-vessel con-

version project for Brazilian mining giant Vale.

Five of Vale’s VLCCs are being converted to very

large ore carriers (VLOCs) at the Yulian and Huraung

Dan Dong shipyards in China. The first Ore Itaquia , was

completed in October at Yulian while the second wascompleted at the same yard in November.

“The shipping industry is facing increasing pressure

from governments and legislative authorities to reduce

greenhouse gas emissions,” says Torben Rasmussen,

group product manager at Hempel. “In response, many

Many shipownershave set their ownenvironmental targetsin an effort to reduceCO2 emissions

‘

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COATINGS & CORROSION

December 2011 www.motorship.com 21

not applied Ecospeed on the rudders, we would

certainly have extensive work to do in drydock.”

Among other users of Ecospeed is the Belgian Navy,

which has found the paint to last well with only a few

touch-ups needed at drydocking. Among the Belgian

Navy vessels using Ecospeed are the mine hunterM915 Lobelia , which was coated in 2006, and three

tugs, two of which were also coated in 2006 and a

third, A950 Valcke , which has now been sailing with

Ecospeed for over five years. The company points out

that Naval ships can spend long idle periods between

operations, allowing fouling to build up. As Ecospeed's

properties prevent fouling from penetrating the

surface, and allow easy cleaning, the optimum

average hull roughness will be regained after each

cleaning because surface integrity is maintained.

TRADITIONAL ANTIFOULING

For owners looking for a traditional antifouling, PPG

Protective & Marine Coatings has launched its high-

activity Sigma Nexeon 750 antifouling product, which

is claimed to deliver optimum protection against

hard fouling and whitening, with good performance

characteristics and reduced environmental impact.

Nexeon 750 is said to provide a solution to the

challenge of keeping a ship’s underwater hull clean

from discoloration and/or fouling pick-ups while it

is stationary in seawater. With prolonged outfitting

periods for newbuildings such as LNG carriers, FPSOs,

offshore support ships and drill ships, there is an

increasing demand for vessels to look clean and not

incur extensive costs on cleaning the underwater

hull before delivery. Nexeon 750 is a copper-free,

high-activity antifouling based on self-polishing binder

technology. It is said to be particularly suitable for

static and low-activity vessels, both at new build and

providing consistent polishing even in stationary

service conditions.

Nexeon 750 is usually recommended in combination

with the existing Sigma Coatings antifouling product

range, as a final antifouling coat.

Orkot® Marine Bearings is a leading brand of composite bearings forboth Merchant and Naval vessels world-wide. Holding more than 30Classification Society Approvals for use in rudders, stabilisers andwater lubricated propeller shaft bearings; Orkot® is also fitted in awide variety of ships equipment including cranes, hatches, life boatlaunchers, docking and mooring systems.

Our TLMM and TXMM materials are available for dry running or forgrease, water or oil lubrication.

Benefits:• Low Coefficient of Friction • Long Wear Life• High Edge Loading Capability • Tolerant to Misalignment• Dry Running • No Lubrication Required

[email protected]: +44 1709 789828

The rudder of the 'Friedrich Russ' before Ecospeed wasapplied, showing cavitation damage

Grzegorz Girjat, superintendent at Ernst Russ, shows thestate of the rudder of the 'Elisabeth Russ' in drydock in

2011; the original cavitation pitting from before the originalEcospeed application is still visible but no further cavitation

damage has occurred in the intervening seven years

Documents

The Motorship Dec2011