TECHNICAL • PAINTS & COATINGS
Hempel provides offers ‘proven and tested’ hull protection
Hempel reports that sales of its Hempaguard X7 are ‘consistent’ despite the poor shipping market and low freight rates. The coating boasts 700 installations since its launch in late 2013. This ‘demonstrates that, despite tough markets, proven and trusted solutions still win-out over lower quality coatings,’ says Marine, Dry Dock group segment manager Andreas Glud.
Glud insists that despite the low cost of bunkers, which has dramatically altered the market environment since Hempaguard X7’s introduction, it is still possible for his company to offer a comparatively short pay-back period as one of its selling points. ‘Owners and operators see that their return on this investment is short,’ he says. ‘Hempaguard exhibits excellent fuel efficiency (effectively reducing carbon emissions). Silicone coatings have an
Hempaguard contains very little biocide
unparalleled, higher level of smoothness versus more traditional antifoulings.’
Although Glud identifies a trend towards ‘regulations controlling the use of biocides… being strengthened in general,’ he adds that Hempel is in a good position in this regard.
‘Hempaguard is a silicone coating that contains very little biocide (95% less than antifoulings) due to the unique way that a biocide-activated hydrogel is formed on the surface of the coating. We have focused much of our R&D on
Ecoshield – a hard option for US inland waterways
Shallow inland waterways in the US present unique challenges for shipping. Brown waters, packed with sand, silt and other debris, create additional stress on hull coatings and corrosion and cavitation on ship hulls. In such circumstances, a hard coating is often a better option than one offering linear polishing.
ZF Marine Krimpen, a manufacturer of azimuth thrusters, many of which are supplied to US-based customers, has
Hard coatings gain ground on azimuth thrusters
coated a number of these with Hydrex’s Ecoshield to reduce wear-and-tear. ‘We were looking to improve the protection of the thruster’s underwater components against damages due to the debris common in shallow draught inland waterways, particularly the Mississippi, as well as to prevent damage due to cavitation and corrosion,’ said Frank van der Vegt, area sales manager Commercial Craft Thruster Systems at ZF Marine.
‘We offer the Ecoshield- coated thruster as an option, but it is a very good solution for increasing the life of thruster installations aboard tugs and pushboats operating in shallow waters,’ said van der Vegt. ‘They are less prone to damage, reducing maintenance and operational costs. We see these benefits not only with the towboat application, but also other
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applications such as harbour tugs and passenger vessels.’
Ecoshield is already a common choice for ship rudders with 400 reference installations, but Hydrex has noted a marked increase in applications for tunnel thrusters and gearboxes. After a series of patch tests proved successful ZF Marine began applying the hard- coating to all underwater areas of the thruster. Since then, Ecoshield has been applied to the ZF 1000hp azimuth thrusters installed on 12 tow and pushboats operating in US waters.
According to Hof, the company is also seeing increasing interest from original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). ‘Ecoshield safeguards propulsion systems and steering gear against cavitation and corrosion damage throughout the vessel’s service life, which can increase significantly the operational life of rudders and thrusters. We have Ecoshield-coated rudders and thrusters that have not needed recoating after more than five years operating in some of the harshest marine environments.’
Seatrade Maritime Review • Quarterly Issue 2 • June 2017
silicone coatings which exhibit an exceptionally smooth surface, making it hard for fouling organisms to latch on, as well as initiatives to optimise the amount and type of biocide we use in our products.
‘We don’t see a biocide free world in the next decade,’ Glud continues, ‘but the trend is to ensure that the biocides available are used in a responsible way, minimising the impact on the environment as much as possible which will drive a reduction in the amount of biocides used over time.’
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