ECOTEC Marine Systems: Bringing Subsea Industries coating solutions to South Korea

ECOTEC Marine Systems in Busan, South Korea has represented Subsea Industries for 15 years in the region.

ECOTEC is a 10-person company, led by CEO Sang-Uk Lee, involved in the engineering, manufacturing and installation of marine maneuvering and propulsion systems. They specialize in customized solutions for complete maneuvering packages, such as ECO-Rudder systems (rudder, stock, carrier, trunk, streamline bodies, etc.) and propulsion systems as ECO-Tube (stern tube assembly) for oceangoing and naval ships including submarines (rudders and hydroplanes). ECOTEC has been involved in some of the most innovative and technically challenging semi-spade and full spade rudder design and propulsion systems around the world. Their rudder designs are considered state-of-the art.

The individual at ECOTEC who has been most involved with Subsea Industries is the Director of the Design Team, Do-Hyun (Jack) Heo, who has been working at ECOTEC on rudder and propulsion system design for twenty years. Jack has a master’s degree in ship resistance and propulsion. Before joining ECOTEC, he worked at the DSME shipyard in Korea.

“Wherever possible, products are integrated in a complete system with a tailor-made approach,” explains Jack. “Reliability, ease of maintenance, safety and a long life-span are key drivers throughout the design, manufacturing and installation processes. Customers and yards alike benefit from an easy to install and integrated solution, a unified overall design and one project coordinator for the maneuvering system. We are involved in all stages of project development, starting from the initial assessment of a ship owners needs,” Jack adds.

The propeller and rudder arrangementss designed and provided by ECOTEC’s highly qualified team of marine engineers, naval architects and control engineers are optimized for criteria such as fuel efficiency, effective maneuverability, minimizing cavitations and vibration, and low maintenance. ECOTEC’s sales, design, site management and commissioning team members are encouraged to be involved with customers for further development of rudder performance, safety, quality and operation culture. “Our involvement does not end with the delivery of the ship to owners,” says Jack. “Our team works with the customer during the vessel’s guarantee period, and its subsequent operating life, to ensure optimum safe operational efficiency.”

Subsea coatings – a perfect match

Subsea Industries coatings, particularly Ecoshield which is the ultimate protection for rudders and other running gear, are a natural fit with ECOTEC’s advanced maneuverability and propulsion system designs and installations.

ECOTEC is Subsea Industries’ sole representative in South Korea. They introduce and sell Subsea Industries’ coatings – Ecospeed, Ecoshield and Ecolock – to South Korean shipyards, and assist Subsea with sales and delivery in the country. “Since we are a company that designs and supplies rudder systems, we sometimes purchase Subsea’s coating directly and apply it to a rudder for the customer,” says Jack.

Subsea Industries coatings, especially Ecoshield, have been included in some very interesting projects in South Korea. Two of these involved rudders and skegs for the UK Royal Navy and the Republic of Korea (ROK) Navy.

UK Royal Navy and ROK Navy rudders

ECOTEC designed rudders for four Royal Navy MARS (Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability) tankers which were installed at DSME shipyard in South Korea and coated with Ecoshield, along with the skegs of the same ships. The Royal Fleet Auxiliary MARS tanker is an IMO-compliant vessel designed by BMT to the specifications of the UK Royal Navy. It offers logistical support to the Royal Navy by providing fuel and fresh water to naval vessels at sea.

The rudders were designed specifically to meet UK Royal Navy requirements. Ecoshield was chosen as the protective coating since it is highly resistant to cavitation and lasts the life of the ship without the need to repaint. With Ecoshield, anodes can also be dispensed with.

The same type of ship but this one for the ROK Navy several years later, also had rudders designed by ECOTEC specifically to meet ROK Navy requirements. They are different from the Royal Navy MARS tanker rudders, as are the propellers. In this case Ecoshield was again chosen as the protective coating for the same reasons as with the UK Royal Navy.

The fact that Ecoshield is completely non-toxic is also of benefit to naval vessels that need to be as sensitive as possible to the marine environments in which they operate. 

Future

“ECOTEC’s future is bright,” says Jack. “Since merchant ships are greatly influenced by the global economy, we plan to focus more on special ships such naval vessels,” he adds.

Jack is working closely with Subsea Industries to increase the use of Subsea coatings by Korean shipyards which are very conservative when it comes to changing from the paint they have always used to new paints. With persistence and good cooperation between Subsea Industries and the ECOTEC team, Jack believes that Korean shipyards will soon be applying Subsea Industry coatings much more extensively.