3rd eng
Corrosion is a process by which any metal erodes with time and becomes brittle. It has always been a challenge in the marine world that how exactly we can tackle ship corrosion and prevent it to the maximum possible extent.
A lot of research has been done in the past on the subject of ship corrosion prevention and protection. We will now discuss about protection for corrosion in seawater in more details.
There are many types of anti corrosion protection methods that are used in today’s world. It becomes very important to protect the ships as they are mostly in the sea and sea water being salty can corrode the metal body of the ship faster.
Hull Protection
Here is what you can do to protection for hull corrosion in seawater. The hulls have exposure both below and above the waterline. This is exactly why anti friction coatings must be applied to the surface that is below the water. This ensures that the hull does not get eroded at a fast rate. Another new method is to use coal tar to paint the hull. This has proved to be very effective.
Deck Area
The decks can also get affected by corrosion as they are in constant touch with the air that too has high moisture content. Sometimes salt is deposited on the deck and as a result the plating on the deck gets affected. During a rough weather the deck of the ship can be very badly damaged by the sea water.
Chlorinated rubber is very commonly used to protect those areas of the deck that is in constant touch with the sea water. The deck should be kept clean and dusted so that salt cannot accumulate on it. Regular check must be done.
Ballast Tanks
The ballast tanks on ship carry water as a result they not only get corroded but they also get affected by microbes that can be dangerous. This is exactly why the walls of the tanks are first covered with a paint that will avoid corrosion and then on top of it a coating is applied that will keep the bacteria away. This is very important. The fresh water tanks are cement washed and chlorinated so that no germs can develop in them and also that they don’t corrode easily. All these methods have played a vital role in corrosion of the tanks. However, with time there have been new methods also adopted. Silver nitrate is also used in the tanks nowadays for the pupose of protection for corrosion in water.
Apart from the methods mentioned for protection for corrosion in seawater there are many more things that can be done to ensure that the corrosion is in control. For example regular checks must be done of the ship and if there is any discrepancy it must be reported and fresh paint must be applied on it.
A regular audit must be done on a yearly basis to assess the amount of damage that has occurred to various parts of the ship and to recommend what must be done.
The maintenance of ships tanker is a complex process and it is important too as if not maintained properly they can damage the future consignments. It has been noted that microbes can also form in cargo tankers due to internal humidity.
These are the various methods that can be used for protection against ship corrosion in seawater. I hope with the help of this article you will be able to decide better how damaging ship corrosion actually is and how it can be avoided or at least minimized
Ship Corrosion Prevention & Protection,
