Ballast tank corrosion is a major worry for shipowners as it can lead to structural failure. But corrosion repair usually means taking a ship out of service for dry dock repair. With Hempel’s new Hempadur EM (easy maintenance) 35740 corrosion spots, the company says the problem can easily be fixed – even at sea.

Hempadur EM 35740 is a new ultra-high solids (96 per cent VS) and damp surface tolerant epoxy coating primarily for on-board maintenance and repair of ballast tanks. The product, available in 2.5-litre cans, is intended for brush application and it is particularly well-suited for spot or smaller area maintenance or repair in hard-to-reach areas where climate control and surface preparation are difficult.

Another plus is the short drying time that leaves the painted areas immersion-ready in eight hours, at 20° C, thus ensuring a quick return to service.

“With its very low VOCs (volatile organic compounds) and ease of use, Hempadur EM 35740 is ideal for on board maintenance work to keep the ballast tank coating in a condition that the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) would consider ‘good’ in its guidelines for maintenance and repair of ballast tank coatings, MSC1/Circ 1330,” a company statement said.

“Ultimately the product can help shipowners to avoid costly annual inspections schemes and reduce the need for repair work at the next dry docking – all without disturbing vessel operation,” it said.

“Hempadur EM 35740 makes the tedious work of controlling corrosion in ballast tanks faster and easier. While it is particularly developed for on-board ballast tank maintenance, it is also suitable as a general on-board maintenance primer for most other areas of the vessel.”

Hempel listed the following major advantages:

• The easiest way to keep corrosion down while at sea 
•  Helps keep the ballast tank coating in good condition (according to IMO guidelines)
• Reduced need for repair work at next dry docking
• Short drying/curing time (immersion-ready in eight hours, at 20° C)
• Easy handling and less waste, thanks to handy 2.5-litre cans
• Easy application reaching sufficient film thickness by brush
• Surface-tolerant for reduced preparation time
• Moisture-tolerant for application on damp surfaces
• Extremely low VOC for maximum convenience and care for crew and environment
• Minimal PPE (personal protection equipment) required

In other Hempel news, the company has built a plant north of the Argentine capital Buenos Aires which manufactures paint for the marine and protective coatings segments for the South American market. With a production volume of 10.5 million litres, the plant is designed for future capacity expansion.

Hempel is a major player in the marine paints market and one of its main Middle East customers is United Arab Shipping Company (UASC). In one of the significant milestones in 2011, UASC contracted Hempel to coat nine of the company’s new order for large container vessels with Hempasil X3 immediately after being built at the Samsung shipyard in Korea. The order was to re-coat the ships in drydocks after they left the Samsung shipyard.

With the Hempasil X3 system, vessels that typically use $90,000 of bunker fuel per day, for example, could save at least two per cent of fuel per day with the payback period on the coating system much less than five years, the company said at the time. In addition to the Hempasil X3 fouling release coating, the multi-million-dollar contract with UASC included the one-coat Nexus X-Seal tie coat solution, the Sea Trend fuel consumption data monitoring software and the Hempasil Helix propeller coating.