Ballast Tank Refurbishment

An 80 year old accommodation barge SH037 had a requirement for full ballast tank refurbishment of 3,500m². The seawater tanks were heavily corroded with poor access.

Grit-blasting could not be performed due to the condition of the steel and the vessel being occupied at quayside in Canary Wharf. To protect the health of the applicators and occupants of the barge, a low odour, solvent-free system was required. These factors, along with wet and rusty surfaces in the tanks, provided a substantial challenge.

Limitations on the condition of the steel only allowed water jet washing @ 400 bar pressure. Loose paint and loose rust was removed to a standard of WJ-4. Chemco’s specification of a primer coat and stripe coat was carried out with Epo-chem™ RS 500P solvent-free, wet & rust tolerant coating @ 100µ DFT followed by a full coat of Epo-chem™ RS 500P @ 200µ DFT.

The work programme was successfully completed extending the life-expectancy of the barge by 5-10 years as required by the owner. All the ballast tanks were completed to class standard and certified accordingly to the satisfaction of all concerned.

The vessel remained in service with no operational down-time. The solvent-free, wet & rust tolerant system allowed the application to take place at quayside in the centre of London. The applicators required less PPE and were able to work in a cleaner environment for a longer period of time. Substantial cost savings were made as there were no requirements for de-humidifiers, ventilation or heating.