Faster docking procedure for vessels with silicone coatings
Application of X3 topcoat
According to Hempel, an increasing number of shipowners are using fouling release coatings like Hempasil X3 to reduce fuel bills and cut carbon emissions.
In early 2010, Hempel launched a new solution that is claimed to improve the re-docking procedure for fouling release on vessels and gives shipowners up to five extra years of fuel saving benefits in one simple procedure.
Cutting fuel consumption by 5% to 8% on each vessel is said to offer a significant impact on a shipping company’s bottom line. And the associated reduction in CO2 makes meeting new environmental legislation far easier. These are the benefits claimed for Hempasil X3, described as the only fouling release coating to come with a fuel-saving guarantee.
Since its launch in November 2008, Hempel’s third-generation fouling release coating has been applied to more than 60 vessels, which the company says has saved customers an estimated total of $30 million in fuel bills and reducing their fleet’s CO2 emissions by 200,000 tonnes. But some shipowners feel that re-docking procedures for fouling release vessels are difficult and expensive. Hempel says it has addressed that problem with the introduction of the Nexus X-Tend tie-coat.
Launched at the start of 2010, Nexus X-Tend is claimed to improve the efficiency of maintenance and re-coating procedures when a fouling release vessel comes into dry-dock. By speeding up the dry-docking process – and enabling ships to re-enter service half to one day earlier – Nexus X-Tend is expected to save shipowners money on dock rent, surface preparation time and vessel inactivity. And because the tie-coat is designed specifically to adhere to many different substrates, the result, according to Hempel, is a stronger link between old substrates and the topcoat, resulting in a stronger system overall.
Marie Bakholdt Andersen, group product manager at Hempel, explains, “We’ve calculated that using Nexus X-Tend could save shipowners up to $100,000 on each vessel. Traditionally, silicone coatings require extra steps in the coating procedure – and that has increased shipping companies’ dry-dock costs. By making procedures simpler and more efficient, Nexus X-Tend will reduce the time that vessels are out of operation for maintenance.”
Nexus X-Tend makes it easier to paint over an old silicone coating, which the company says essentially makes Hempasil X3 as simple to apply as a conventional anti-fouling coating.
“Previously, a ship with a fouling release coating underwent a multi-phase maintenance procedure on damaged areas,” says Andersen. “The ship was washed down and any damaged areas were blasted or hydro-jetted. Two coats of anticorrosive paint were applied on the touch-up and repair areas, followed by a tie-coat and a topcoat. Finally, any overlapping areas were removed with high pressure fresh water, and a full Hempasil X3 topcoat was applied. This was a long and time-consuming process.”
With Hempasil Nexus X-Tend, touching-up and repairing damaged areas is a much smoother process – and, according to Anders Blom, senior development engineer at Hempel, Nexus X-Tend delivers a better result. “Nexus X-Tend has better adhesive properties than any other single product of this type, and it adheres extremely well to a wide range of substrates. As a result, the final system is stronger.”
The company says that Hempasil Nexus X-Tend comes at a convenient time for the shipping industry. In a phone poll of 210 shipowners carried out for Hempel, Lindberg International confirmed that the fouling release market is growing. The pure fouling release coatings market is still small, but more shipping companies are using a mix of both fouling release and anti-fouling products for their fleets. As a result, the use of fouling release coatings is expected to rise from less than 10% to more than 20% over the coming years.
For shipowners that have chosen the fuel-savings offered by fouling release coatings, Hempasil Nexus X-Tend offers an advantage. “At the end of the coating’s service time, the vessel can get a fresh layer of Hempasil X3 to extend the service life of the coating by five more years, with one simple and inexpensive drydocking procedure,” says Andersen.Images for this article - click to enlarge
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