IJME 416

Paper Title: The Economics of a Long Term Coating

Authors

R Willemen, H Verstraelen, R Meskens, D Luyckx, K Vastmans, Antwerp Maritime Academy, Belgium
S Lenaerts, Department of Bioscience Engineering, University of Antwerp, Belgium
G Potters, Antwerp Maritime Academy and Department of Bioscience Engineering, University of Antwerp, Belgium
K De Baere, Antwerp Maritime Academy, Belgium

Summary 

An important challenge during ship construction is the protection against corrosion of the ballast tanks. These tanks have many compartments, contain multiple structural elements and play a critical role in the seaworthiness. The majority of the ballast tanks are prepared and coated according to IMO Performance Standard for Protective Coating regulations (PSPC), using a light coloured epoxy coating that, when maintenance is being performed by the crew, must remain in a “good” condition for 15 years. This method is set next to a protection system applied by a given owner who keeps its ships in an excellent condition for their complete lifetime using a long term coating. More attention is paid to the preparation and application of the coating and consequently it protects the ballast tanks for more than 25 years. These coating strategies are compared in an economic analysis, supplemented with a sensitivity analysis to evaluate the outcomes due to variable parameters. The results indicate that a long term coating only pays off for owners willing to keep the ballast tanks of their vessels in a good condition for the complete lifetime. The decisive factor is that a long term coating entails no recoating in dry dock. The latter results in less toxic components in the atmosphere.

Reference

Transactions RINA, Vol 159, Part A3, International Journal Maritime Engineering, Jul-Sep 2017 

DOI Number

DOI No: 10.3940/rina.ijme.2017.a3.416

Search and Order IJME papers

All International Journal of Maritime Engineering (IJME) papers are listed in the RINA Publications Database. You can search the database by author name and paper title. Publications may be ordered and paid for online. Other publications are also listed, some of which may be downloaded free of charge. Follow the link to Search Publications & Order.