High abrasion resistance

Abrasion resistance is an extremely important property in a marine coating. If the hull, decks, tanks and other parts of a ship or offshore vessel or structure that are exposed to water are not well protected with an abrasion-resistant coating, they can suffer mechanical damage. The underlying steel or other substrate is then exposed to corrosion. This can result in the need for extensive repairs and can shorten the useful life of the vessel.

Thus correct choice of marine coatings is vital for a vessel to have a long and trouble-free life.

For this reason, abrasion resistance was built in to the Ecospeed family of coatings – Ecospeed, Ecoshield, Ecolock – from the beginning. 

What makes the Ecospeed coatings so abrasion resistant?

It is a combination of several factors that make these coatings so successful in this regard:

• The vinyl ester resin which is the base of the coatings
• The high proportion of large aspect ratio special glass platelets
• Bonding agents added to increase the adherence of the coating to the substrate
• Strict preparation requirements of the surface to be coated, which include a roughness profile of at least 75µm (±3 mil), and a cleanliness of SA 2 ½ (near white steel)
• The thickness of coating applied which is at least 1000 µm (±40 mil) and in some cases 1500 µm (±60 mil) dry film thickness (DFT).

Choice of coatings is also important. While all of the Ecospeed family of coatings are highly abrasion resistance, Ecoshield is specially formulated to make it even tougher. It is recommended for certain applications where particularly high abrasion resistance is required. 

The following situations illustrate just how abrasion-resistant the Ecospeed coatings are.

General hull coating and cleaning

One immediate benefit of having a very abrasion-resistant general hull coating can be observed when it comes time to clean the hull in the water. Sometimes hulls foul quite badly with barnacles and other calcareous fouling, no matter what hull coating is used. If the next drydock visit is still some time away and the hull has to be cleaned under water, it may require quite aggressive cleaning with steel wire brushes. Most hull coatings will be destroyed by such treatment. The Ecospeed coatings have shown that they can be cleaned repeatedly and aggressively without any damage to the paint. Because the coatings are entirely non-toxic, the environment is also not damaged by such cleaning, as it would be if an antifouling or foul release coating were used.

Ice-abrasion resistance

One of the severest tests of abrasion resistance for a coating is when it is used on an icebreaker or ice-going vessel. Ice is a particularly harsh environment for hull coatings, particularly when it contains lava, gravel, sand and other rough material as it often does, for example, in Antarctic waters.

Ecospeed has been awarded ice-abrasion classification by Lloyd’s Register, rating it Polar Code (PC) 1-7 which is the maximum rating. This means, in effect, that a ship protected with Ecospeed is allowed to sail in any sea at any time of year, no matter the ice conditions.

Decks

The decks of Ro-Ro ships and workboats require special protection due to the heavy traffic and rough treatment they are subjected to. Ecospeed has proved to be very resistant to this type of abrasion and to provide excellent protection.

Inside hopper of trailer suction hopper dredger

Ecoshield was applied as a test on the inside of Dutra’s trailer suction hopper dredger Stuyvesant, where the steel is subject to serious abrasion and erosion. The results even surprised the Fleet Superintendent who had not expected it to last.

On seeing the coating after almost a year in use, Dutra Fleet Manager Iain Searle commented, “To be honest,” he said, “I was expecting it to be gone in a few weeks, so I am surprised it is holding up at all.”

Fender areas of FLNG barge

The fender areas of an FLNG barge are often protected with rubber to save the paint from being removed in the areas of the hull where the barge rubs against the mooring jetty. When the EXMAR Caribbean FLNG was coated with Ecolock to protect the hull, we recommended to the owner that instead of the rubber, he simply extend the Ecolock coating on the hull to protect those areas where rubber is normally required. This was done and the coating successfully resisted the abrasion. Later, when the barge was moved to a new station with a different jetty, new patches were coated with Ecolock to fit the new jetty requirements. These also held up exceptionally well.

Bulbous bow

The bulbous bow of a ship, particularly an ice-going ship, can take quite a beating. Traditional hull coatings are rapidly damaged and removed, exposing the hull to corrosion. Ecospeed stands up very well to this rough treatment.

Boottops

Recently a major shipping company that was using Ecoshield to protect rudders and thruster tunnels from cavitation damage, asked us if we could protect the boottops of their ships which were being damaged by tugs. So far we have successfully coated the boottop of several of these ships.

Compared to any of the traditional antifouling or foul release coatings and even the conventional specialized ice-abrasion resistant paint, the Ecospeed family of coatings have proved to be in a different league when it comes to abrasion resistance. While our coatings are not completely impervious to mechanical damage, they are so much tougher and more abrasion-resistant than the alternatives that they are well worth considering as protection for any areas of ships, boats and marine structures that are prone to this kind of stress.