Ballast Tank Repair – Crude Oil Tanker

Large areas of the ballast tanks on board a major crude oil tanker were suffering from severe corrosion.

These areas had to be repaired with a coating system which would provide long-lasting performance and protection from further corrosion.

In many of the tanks, the corroded spots were significant and often in hard-to-reach areas; making them difficult to prepare effectively ahead of coating application.

A coating solution which could be applied on large, minimally prepared surface patches was required.

The project was carried out in high temperature conditions with exposure to high relative humidity.

The surface was prepared using a combination of hydroblasting and mechanical power tooling, to WJ-3 and St 3 standards respectively.

One stripe coat and one full coat of Chemco’s solvent-free, wet & rust tolerant coating RS 500P was then applied to achieve a DFT of 200μm.

The project was completed within the given time frame, with all ballast tanks ready for a return to service.

Chemco was chosen for the repair project due to previous success in completing coating works for other vessels in the fleet; with further repair projects set to come in 2020.

• Solvent-free
• Wet & rust tolerant
• Can be applied on minimally prepared surfaces
• No humidity or dew point restrictions
• No recoating limitations
• No nearby operational shutdown required
• Quick return to service (product can ‘continue to cure’ underwater)
• Improved Health & Safety and reduced risk of Fire Hazard