In the last few months more than twenty ships received Ecoshield protection for their rudders, bow thrusters (and tunnels), Mewis Ducts, Becker Twisted Fins, and in some cases scrubber outlet areas. The applications were carried out in China, Gibraltar, Spain, Turkey and the U.K. on a wide range of vessels. These included container ships, roro ships, a navy vessel, bulk carriers, a tanker and general cargo vessels. The running gear of these ships will be protected against cavitation and corrosion damage for the rest of their service lives without the need for recoating.
The ships belonged to a number of different owners. Some of them were new customers, others returning ones. The returning customers had seen firsthand that Ecoshield solved the cavitation erosion problem on the rudders of other ships and wanted the same protection for the rest of their fleet. The new ones saw the excellent results obtained by other owners and chose Ecoshield to prevent corrosion and cavitation damage from reoccurring on their own ships.
Groundbreaking protection
In the last couple of years, Subsea Industries’ sister company Hydrex has noted a substantial increase in the number of enquiries for underwater rudder repairs. This clearly shows the need for a cost-saving and lasting solution. A great deal of effort goes into the design and manufacture of rudders because they are such an important part of a vessel. If a rudder is not given the proper protection against cavitation and the resulting erosion and corrosion damage, there can be major financial consequences for the owner.
Ecoshield puts an end to this. By blasting the rudder or other running gear back to bare steel and applying our coating, we can break the never-ending cycle of painting, suffering damage, having to perform extensive repairs in drydock followed by a full repainting, again and again. Ecoshield provides a very thorough and lasting protection for a ship’s entire service life. No repaint beyond minor touch-ups of mechanical damage will be required during future drydockings.
The Ecofix and Ecoshield combination
If a rudder has already suffered corrosion damage, Ecoshield can prevent any further damage from occurring. In such case the coating can be used in combination with another product in the Subsea Industries family: Ecofix.
Ecofix is a superior, tested and proven filler that restores the steel to its original shape with a smooth surface prior to recoating. Because it uses the same basic resin, Ecoshield can be applied just one hour after the filler.
Slot welds can also be filled with Ecofix on a newbuild rudder prior to Ecoshield application.
Ecofix can replace much more costly and time-consuming hot work in most cases.
Easy and flexible application
With time at a premium in drydock, the speed of application of Ecoshield is a further advantage. Ecoshield’s flexibility makes it easy to adapt the application schedule to the rest of the activities at the shipyard or drydock in a way which does not interfere with them. Overcoating time can be as short as three hours. With the right planning, grit blasting, filling with Ecofix if needed, and application of the two required layers of Ecoshield can be performed in just one day.
Suitable for all running gear
Besides offering rudder protection, Ecoshield is also suitable for thrusters, azimuth thrusters, Azipods®, thruster nozzles, thruster tunnels and other underwater ship gear which needs special protection from corrosion. The extra strength coating protects these areas for the service life of the ship. There is no need for recoating or major repair. For this reason, several of the vessels treated recently had their thrusters, thruster tunnels, propeller nozzles and stator fins coated with Ecoshield in addition to the rudders.
Results speak for themselves
Evidence of the success of the coating is the number of companies that began by coating one rudder experimentally and have ordered Ecoshield for the running gear on other ships after seeing the results in service. Most have plans to convert their entire fleet. Shipowners who have previously applied Ecoshield to rudders on ships in service are specifying the coating for the rudders and other underwater gear on their newbuilds.
Ecoshield comes with a ten-year guarantee. It is the only coating known to fully protect a rudder from all cavitation damage.
