During industrial tank cleaning, personnel can spend long durations in these dangerous spaces, exposed to hydrocarbons, whilst utilising high powered jetting equipment. The risks are always present and are amplified further with the introduction of the cleaning equipment. The solution has been to create a tool that allows all tank cleaning to be conducted from the safety of the vessel deck. The company focuses on entirely removing the need for confined space entry whilst ensuring to retain the ability to clean storage tanks to desired industry standards, all from the safety of the deck.
Problem Statement
Tank cleaning procedures in the North Sea and abroad have been in place for a long time. Despite the risk involved, it has been accepted that the operations are adequately controlled and safe to continue with. The first hurdle was to change the opinion that confined space entry to bulk cargo tanks remains the best way to clean, and that alternative and safer means were required.
Stage two was to create the equipment that would be effective enough to achieve the same cleaning results from the tank hatch as is achieved whilst inside the tanks. This process took approximately 2 years to get correct, or to the point of the team beginning cleaning trials.
Some further issues that were considered during the process included:
• Working at height • Working with high powered cleaning equipment
• Exposure to hydrocarbons and harmful atmospheres in general
• Adaptability to all types of vessel tank hatches
Methodology & Approach
The company knew because they wanted to avoid confined space entry, it would need to develop equipment that was appropriate for use from outside the tank, and mainly from the main entry point - the tank hatches. Swan & Co. teamed up with a local fabrication company and presented detailed blueprints of what they envisaged to have in place. The team created initial sample products that were used to identify potential issues and hurdles, and from there, re-designed whilst ironing out problems identified.
The company also researched specific cleaning lances and cleaning heads which were used to develop new, extendable, and adaptable lances that would be compatible with the support tool whilst also being efficient when cleaning the tanks and user friendly for the cleaning teams.
Final designs were settled and committed to create a prototype which could be used for trials onboard supply vessels.
Objective
The company's aim has always been to create equipment that allowed tank cleaning to be done from the safety of the vessel deck, eradicating any need for confined space entry. The equipment will be adaptable to any vessel and tank hatch and will have all relevant safety controls for use. The equipment will be efficient and effective enough to achieve the same cleaning standards as traditional person-entry cleaning would regardless of which tank people were working with. The main objective is to keep people out of confined spaces and thus increasing the safety of cleaning operations tenfold.
Along with the product itself, the organisation created working methods, operational procedures, and risk assessments to ensure that initial use and trials would be fully controlled and safe. Swan & Co. also ensured to have in place appropriate weight load testing and heat testing for all equipment and placed appropriate patents on all of the equipment.
Solution
The innovative equipment, which the business named the Swan Non- Entry Support Tool (NEST), has been designed to fit to any supply vessel tank hatch. It allows for cleaning equipment (lances/guns) to be secured through the NEST allowing for the cleaning operator to target areas of the tank floors, walls, and roofs from the safety of the deck.
The lances are secured in place within the NEST which allows for all of the pressure and weight from the lance to be supported solely by the NEST, and not by the operator. A visual is gained from the hatch which allows the operator to target areas of the tank that require attention, whilst the waste created is removed to shoreside via discharge lines or Wilden pumps.
The cleaning heads which have been identified and put in place allow for the different levels of cleaning required, whether that is simply clearing a floor, washing down walls, or cutting up solids (mud fall out). The NEST is easily secured to any supply vessel tank hatch and has been pressure tested, weight tested, and heat tested to ensure complete safety whilst in use.
THE REPORT | MAR 2025 | ISSUE 111 | 115
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