Say goodbye to cavitation damage on running gear

In the last year more than 100 vessels belonging to many different owners received Ecoshield protection for their rudders, bow thruster tunnels, nozzles and other energy saving devices. The applications were carried out in shipyards around the world on a wide range of vessels.

Rudders, thrusters, nozzles and other underwater running gear are exceptionally prone to corrosion and cavitation damage. Cavitation is caused by bubbles produced by the spinning of propeller blades. If running gear is not given the proper protection against this, the damage can be severe.

This leads to expensive and time-consuming repairs in drydock at least or malfunctioning of the running gear at worst. A rudder has been found missing in its entirety on more than a few occasions with substantial financial and safety-related consequences.

A growing number of shipowners are using Ecoshield strategically to protect the rudders and running gear of their entire fleet. They see the savings that are possible because there is reduced time in drydock at newbuild and when in service, no hot work needed any more, and anodes can even be dispensed with.

A lasting solution is available

Ecoshield was designed to protect all running gear for the lifetime of the vessel. This coating system is applied only once. No repaint will be needed during future drydocking. Only small touch-ups to repair mechanical damage will be required.

Applying Ecoshield is a fast and easy to learn process. No special equipment or personnel are required. As a result, an application is very flexible and can easily be scheduled around the planning of the yard. Only two layers are required. The minimum overcoating time between these layers is only three hours and there is no maximum overcoat time. This means that most running gear can be coated in a single day, but the process is also very flexible.

Newbuild ships benefit the most from Ecoshield. Applying the coating during building means a vessel’s running gear will be protected from the moment the ship leaves the shipyard until the end of its service life. A shipowner will not have to worry about repainting during any of the scheduled dockings.

An existing ship can also be protected with Ecoshield. If for instance a rudder has already suffered corrosion damage, the coating can prevent any further damage from occurring. In such case Ecoshield 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. Ecofix can replace hot work in most cases.

Slot welds can also be filled with Ecofix on a newbuild rudder prior to Ecoshield application.

From one rudder to an entire fleet’s running gear

Since the original application, rudders have been coated on a wide variety of ships: cruise ships, cargo vessels, container carriers, ro-ro cargo ships, cable layers, dredgers, crude oil tankers, research vessels, ice-going ships and icebreakers, tugboats, reefers, passenger ferries, bulkers, navy vessels and others. These applications were performed in shipyards across the globe.

Shipowners that began with a test on a single rudder have since then ordered the same protection for the running gear of their entire fleet. Several have included the coating in the newbuild specs to make sure cavitation and corrosion cannot touch the steel of their ship’s running gear. Even after well over ten years of service these owners are experiencing zero cavitation damage or failure.