Ballast Tank Corrosion Control LtCdr V Thapar Asst. Director Naval Architecture Naval Headquarters, New Delhi 1.

0 Introduction :

Steel, the most corrodible of all ship construction material, still remains the most economic choice of ship construction materials however, the very nature of steel, compounded by the salt laden marine ambience, makes the corrosion protection effort arduous. The marine environment is one of the harshest environments any structure could be subjected to. It is a well-established fact that the steel starts rusting/corroded before the ship is built, it continues to rust while she is being built and throughout its service life. Therefore the battle to keep the rust/corrosion at bay never ends. The marine and shipping industry is increasingly becoming more and more aware of the corrosion and its effect on steel structure leading to premature structure failure, with the loss of life and tonnage. Therefore the corrosion prevention is becoming paramount important factor for all ship builders and ship maintainers. Corrosion protection in consistently and severely corrosive marine environment often poses a challenge to ship building and ship maintenance authorities. The shipping industry expends considerably on corrosion protection measures to extend the longevity of ship and for general safety of the vessel. Though a wide variety of coatings have been developed, the poor coating practices followed often, impair the life of coatings. The most critical parts of the ship susceptible to corrosion are the boot top/ under water areas, ballast tanks and bilges. Considerable financial losses can result from premature damage to the coating system of these critical areas. 2.0 Ballast tanks

The ballast tank in a dry cargo ship constitutes around 70% of all tank spaces. As the ballast tanks are used to alternately fill in the seawater when the ships is in light condition and then to pump out the water when loaded with cargo, the tanks are exposed to cyclic periods of submersion in water and contact with air. The atmosphere in the tanks could be highly humid even when empty with stagnant pool of water around, giving rise to bacterial corrosion. Similarly the topside of the tank also undergoes large variation in temperature. Ballast tanks need careful attention since they form the basic skeleton of the ship and the useful life of the ship is often dependent on the condition of ballast tanks. The large and complex structure of a ballast tank coupled with frequent wetting and drying in highly corrosive salt-water environment makes maintenance one of the biggest challenges for ship owners. Maintaining the ballast coatings of high quality standards help ship owners not only by way of cutting down the steel renewal cost over the years, but also maintains the value of the vessel at higher level.

2 Until very recently the measures adopted for protection of ballast tanks from corrosion were inappropriate, many of the tanks in the past were not painted. With introduction of new regulations by International Maritime Organisation, which specifies type of protective coatings to be used in ballast tanks during the new construction stage and the stricter survey procedures followed by International Association of Classification Societies, for determining the coatings condition of ballast tanks in existing ships, the ship owners face the challenge of maintaining their vessels at the specified conditions. MARPOL 13G have stepped up the requirement for periodical survey and maintenance of the ballast tank coatings of oil tankers. The classification societies also now demand that cargo hold coatings must be applied in bulk carriers. From July 1999, SOLAS Regulation II-1/3-2 requires all dedicated ballast tanks in new oil tankers and bulk carriers to have "an efficient corrosion prevention system, such as hard protective coatings or equivalent". Guidelines for the selection, application and maintenance of the coating system have been included in these regulations. 3.0 Principle of Corrosion in Ballast Tanks:

Corrosion in steel structures is a complex natural phenomenon and is an amalgam of various internal and external factors along with metal properties. Corrosion results from the fundamental tendency of the metal to go back to its original natural form i.e. the ore. Environment surrounding the metals facilitates their conversion into compounds like oxides, hydroxides, chlorides, sulphides, sulphates etc. Corrosion occurs with the formation of hydrated ferric oxide (commonly known as rust) from the electrolytic reaction between the iron metal, oxygen and water. The reaction process normally accepted involves anodic and cathodic processes. The surface of iron or steel in contact with water develops localized anodes and cathodes at which these processes take place. The common form of corrosion which may occur in a ballast tank are : Uniform corrosion Galvanic corrosion Bi-metallic corrosion De-alloying Crevice corrosion Pitting corrosion Weld Decay Stress corrosion cracking Hydrogen related damage

3 4.0 Corrosion Protection in Ballast Tanks :

As per the existing regulations from the viewpoint of adequate corrosion protection, ballast tanks should be coated with coatings exhibiting the following properties: Corrosion inhibiting Free from Pores Smooth Good resistance to seawater The coating must be compatible with any cathodic protection system installed Multi-coat systems with contrasting colours, the last coat should preferably be of a light colour to make material state inspection easier and more effective Coatings should not become brittle where exposed to constant or repeated heating The most efficient way to preserve the corrosion prevention system is to repair any defects found during in-service inspections (for example, spot rusting and local breakdown at edges of stiffeners) A type of hard coating compatible with that used at the new building stage should be applied A more surface and application-tolerant material may be considered if the required conditions for the original coating cannot be met Resistance to condensation at higher temperatures Good application properties including good edge covering characteristics (It is known from the experience that the first paint breakdowns occurs at the areas that are difficult to coat such as sharp edges, weld seams, limber holes etc.) Coating performance can be improved by adopting measure at the design stage such as reduction of scallops, use of rolled profiles and ensuring that that the structural configuration permits easy access with tools and facilitates cleaning, drainage and drying of tanks Maintenance of the corrosion prevention system should be included in the ship's overall maintenance scheme and verified in accordance with the guidelines for the enhanced programme of inspections. Coating performance shall be documented by performance records or supported by appropriate test data

5.0

Selection of Coatings

The correct selection of appropriate coating for long and effective corrosion resistance is one of the major factors to be considered. The selection of coating should be

4 considered by the parties involved with respect to the service conditions and planned maintenance. The following factors, inter-alia, are to be considered: a) b) c) d) Location of tank with respect to heated surfaces Frequency of ballasting/de-ballasting operations Required surface condition Required surface cleanliness and dryness

Several types of coatings have been developed from time to time. Most of these coatings are based on blend of resins namely vinyl, chlorinated rubber, epoxy, polyurethane and coal tar of suitable grades. These coatings provide long-term protection by barrier mechanism. Demand to reduce the surface preparation costs and advances in coating technology have lead to the introduction of first-generation, aluminum containing epoxies. These were followed by second-generation pure-epoxy based anti-corrosive products capable of meeting minimum acceptable preparation standards prior to their application, while fulfilling the users demand. The second-generation surface-tolerant epoxies greatly improved in-service performance over conventional surface tolerant products. This also resulted in overall cost reduction from gains in down time and offhire both at the repair yard and at sea and in reduced surface preparation costs. Then came the third generation anti-corrosive marine coatings. These coatings are more durable, abrasion resistant, have reduced drying/curing time and have also maintained the volatile organic content (VOC) within the acceptable limits. Technology is the key to providing longer vessel life and new coating performance, and effective lifetime is now a major consideration for coatings specifiers. For the past thirty years, coal tar epoxies have been the standard product types used as anti-corrosive coatings for ballast tank corrosion protection but these normally contain, at very low concentrations, poly-aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), which are carcinogenic materials. Today there is a growing reluctance to handle such products, and some EU countries have already introduced restrictive legislation concerning both their use and handling within their own territories. One alternative, to overcome this problem is the use of pure epoxy abrasion resistant and solvent free epoxies. With passage of time new schemes have been introduced, which have better performance than pure epoxy in terms of need for application of lesser number of coats, higher or similar achievable dry film thickness and reduced solvent emission during application. Classification societies have formulated guidelines for application of recognised coating system for ballast tanks, the emphasis being mainly on increasing the degree of surface preparation that is essentially required for increased useful life of the coatings. Basic characteristics of some of the coatings that can be used for ballast tank coating are as follows:

5 5.1 Bituminous Coatings : These are conventional marine coatings with relatively high solid content. These types of coatings do not require any special pretreatment and are easy to recoat. These types of coatings can be easily applied on top of most of the paints with no risk of dissolution of previous coating. Their application is more dependent on ventilation than on the temperature. They have very good water resistance properties. These type of coatings suffer from the disadvantage, as they can not be over coated with any other type of coating (with the exception of anti-fouling) as, there could be a risk of bitumen bleeding through the fresh coat of paint. 5.2 Pure Epoxy : These are two pack sophisticated chemically curing marine coatings. They require special solvent for proper curing. They are much superior to other marine coatings as regard to water, chemical and mechanical resistance, however, they have tendency to chalk when exposed to sunlight. These coatings are intolerable to any over coating due to the envisaged problem of adhesion. No other type of paint can be over coated as it will entail, risk of dissolution (lifting) of previous coat of paint. 5.3 Epoxy Tar : These coatings are made of a combination of epoxy and tar. These require special solvents and are chemically cured. For obtaining optimum performance results the pre application surface requirements are very stringent. Epoxy tar coatings are resistant to water, chemicals, oils and mechanical strain. The use of these coatings should be avoided in solvent tanks due to the danger of discoloration. These coatings are somewhat difficult to be recoated because of the problem of adhesion. Two component modified epoxy paints containing hydrocarbon resins can be produced in different color. 5.4 Polyurethane Coatings :

The polyurethane coatings consist of two components, base and curing agents. These are chemically cured and the curing rate depends on atmospheric temperature. For application special solvents are required to be added. They have moderate / high solid content and require good surface preparation. Polyurethane coatings are considered to have excellent resistance to mechanical stress and very good resistance to solvents and chemicals. 5.5 Epoxy Mastic Coatings :

The epoxy mastic coatings are surface tolerant having superior adhesion properties thereby preventing flaking and delamination. These coatings have low solvent content. The epoxy mastic coatings are cheracterised by higher resistance to abrasion, mechanical damage and stress.

5.6 Glass flake Polyster Coatings : The glass flake polyester coatings combine strength of specially formulated polyesters with unique glass flake reinforcement and therefore are considered to have excellent abrasion resistance properties. These are single coat systems. These coatings can be applied to very high thickness. The solvent emission is minimum at the time of curing and paint application. They also have very low drying time and paint does not sag even when applied to higher thickness. The glass flake coatings have high solid content (98%) and low VOC reducing toxicity and odour 6.0 Surface Preparation

Epoxy based protective coatings have proven to be one of the most effective corrosion protection measures for ballast tanks. But it has often been observed that these coatings generally considered to be good performers in corrosive atmosphere, fail much before their stipulated life. There could be several factors that contribute to the short service life of the current coating systems. One of the causes is standard of surface preparation. Uncontrolled atmospheric conditions during the surface preparation leads to surface contamination and moisture condensation on the surface causing premature failure of the coating. There are two main reasons for carrying out surface preparation. Firstly, it removes contamination, so that coatings can properly adhere to their intended substrate, rather than the contamination itself. Secondly it can increase the surface roughness of the substrate by producing a key or anchor pattern or surface profile. Removing the surface contaminants and increasing surface roughness will allow the maximum bond strength and adhesion to develop between a coating and its substrate. This is considered critical, because ballast tank coatings are subject to a large variety of hostile service condition, which could include abrasion, impact, flexure, moisture, moisture vapour transmission, humidity, salt and whole range of corrosive chemicals. If the coatings are applied over properly prepared surfaces then they are likely to have strong adhesion to the substrate and will have good chances of withstanding these conditions. On the other hand the coatings which have been applied over poorly prepared surfaces will have weak adhesion to the substrate and will fail prematurely from a variety of causes including under film corrosion, blistering or chipping and flaking. Coating performance is therefore directly related to the surface preparation. Basically, coatings adhere to the substrates through a combination of different types of chemical bond and the friction or the mechanical bond produced by substrate surface profile. However, there are following types of contaminants/defects that are required to be removed prior to the application of any heavy-duty paint scheme: 6.1 Various types of Contaminants:

7 Mill scale Rust Oil and Grease Water and Moisture Dust and Grit Salt Steel defects Among these steel defects and salt contamination have been elaborated below : 6.2 Salt Contaminants

The salts which create the greatest contamination and corrosion problem are sulphates and chlorides. Sulphates are more common in industrial environment and come from air pollution. They are not as aggressive as chlorides but can cause problem in coating adhesion. On the other hand almost all surfaces in the marine environment will be exposed to chloride contamination from the salt water in the ballast tanks. A salt contaminated surface, particularly old pitted steel, which has been grit blasted two or three times can still show this type of corrosion. Flashing up will give the appearance of a clean surface but it will not remove the salts entirely, coating on this type of contaminated surface can lead to failure, because the salts will draw the water through the coating by osmosis, causing the loss of adhesion and blistering. The solution to this problem is to high-pressure water wash contaminated areas after blasting to remove the salts from the pits and then to re-blast to remove flash rusting, if necessary. It is therefore mandatory, to take the salt measurements and compare with the permissible levels of salt contamination as stipulated by International Standards Organisation and bodies such as the SSPC. 6.3 Defects in Steelwork

Although they are not strictly regarded as contaminants, surface defects in steel work contribute to coating failure and they are recommended to be rectified before the application of coating as part of surface preparation process. In new building situations, steel work preparation should be viewed as a critical part of the construction programme. Failure to do this work properly will inevitably lead to coating breakdown. The most common types of steelwork defects are as follows: Surface lamination and shelling Cracks and deep crevices Surface inclusions such as mil scale Sharp edges Weld spatter Weld porosity Weld undercut Jagged manual welding seam

8 Missed welds and stitch welding Weld slag and Welding flux residues

As with any industrial or marine coating project, the key to effective and long lasting protection lies in proper surface preparation prior to undertaking application of the protective coatings. The objective of the surface preparation is to create proper adhesion of the coating on the substrate. Proper adhesion plays very important role on the effectiveness of the coating and it determines whether the coating is just a thin sheet of material lying on the substrate or it becomes actual part of the substrate. Adhesion is even more critical for coatings applied in the ballast tanks, where the environment is hot and humid, where the temperature may be approx 350 C and the relative humidity may be more then 90%. High humidity inside the tank causes condensation on the metal surface resulting in formation of flash rust, between the time the surface is blasted visually clean and when the coating is actually applied, leading to premature coating failure. In case of ballast tanks, because of the wet environment the dew points are relatively high especially if the ship is in water. The practical logistics of coating operation also prevents the immediate coating of the surface after cleaning. While, the surface is waiting to be coated, a small reduction in surface temperature and the presence of high humidity in surrounding air inside the ballast tank result in condensation, which causes immediate corrosion. In addition the condensation on the tank walls hinders the bonding of the paint layer with the surface. Under these circumstances, the internal ballast tank maintenance is considered to be one of the common causes of corrosion inside the ballast tank. Researchers in the field have identified the major cause of short service life as improper control of environmental condition inside the tank. The steel surface should be prepared so that the coating selected can achieve an even distribution at the required dry film thickness and have an adequate adhesion by removing sharp edges, grinding weld beads and removing weld spatters and other surface contaminants. Cleaning to near white metal or equivalent may be carried out either on the incoming material (plates and profiles), immediately before the application of shop primer, or after completion of tanks before the application of the primer coating. If the blast cleaning techniques are to be employed after the completion of tanks, the condition under which the blast cleaning is carried out should preclude condensation. In this respect it is not recommended to carry out blasting when any of the following conditions are prevalent: a) b) c) The relative humidity is above 85 %. The surface temperature of steel is less than 30 C above the dew point. There is any possibility that the surface of steel is wet, or there are traces of moisture, or condensation occurs before the primer coat is applied.

Blasting abrasive and dust should be completely removed by means of vacuum cleaning, compressed air and brushes after the blasting operations are finished. The abrasive used for blasting should be dry and free from dirt, oil, grease, and chlorides. The abrasives should also be suitable for producing the standards of cleanliness and profile specified by the coating manufacturer.

No paint system will perform to its optimum level unless the surface is properly prepared. Time spent at initial stage will pay dividends later at the extended life for the coating system and reduce the extent and cost of future remedial works. Surface contaminants such as dirt, grease, salt etc will reduce contact between the new paint and the old, leading to poor adhesion and eventual stripping and peeling. Rust and scale are other contaminants, which prevent contact between the new paint and the steel. They also allow pockets of moist air to remain, which form corrosion cells beneath the new paint film and quickly destroy it. 7.0 Methods of Surface Preparation The various methods that can be used for surface preparation are: Thorough cleaning with clean fresh water to remove salt and loose particles. Thorough cleaning with solvents, detergent or degreaser to remove general contamination, oil and grease. Powertool cleaning, mechanical wire brushing, disc grinding, scaling, Hard Scraping or Slicing, Chipping Hammer or Chiesels, Impact cleaning etc. Elctrolytic descaling with magnesium strips to remove rust and scale in the ballast tanks. Hydrojetting to remove rust, scale, old paint, salt, general contamination etc. Hydroblasting to remove the salt contamination from the tanks. 7.1 Dehumidification An aid to proper surface preparation

Any surface after it has been blasted and prepared for coating is subjected to environmental factors, until the application of first coat. The term Holding the Blast is commonly used for prevention of rust formation between the blasting and coating/application of protective coating. A dehumidifier removes enough moisture from air, so that the air dew point is lowered sufficiently than the surface temperature of the metal. This helps to prevent condensation of moisture on the metal surface thereby eliminating possibility of occurrence of flash rust and mitigating the chances of premature failure of coating due to poor surface preparation. The high humidity also results in condensation on the coated surfaces and therefore often may result into inter-coat delamination, where multi coat systems are being used. Dehumidification, while eliminating the above problems, also improves the curing of the paint system. An adequately designed dehumidification system would be required, inside a ballast tank during, surface preparation and coating application to ensure following:

10 a) b) Air humidity level inside the tank is maintained at level as specified by the coating manufacturer, for optimum performance of the coating. The air dew point is maintained at least 5 0 C below the surface temperature to prevent condensation and formation of flash rust. All specifications including NACE, SSPC, EIL etc call for differential of at least 30 F, between the air dew point and surface temperature with surface temperature being higher. Environmental conditions conducive for paint applications are extended. The painting can therefore be completed within the schedule. Prevents any condensation between the coats thereby reducing the possibility of inter-coat de-lamination and improving the curing properties. Prevents the build up of hazardous vapours inside the closed confined work atmosphere, where blasting and paint application are required to be undertaken. Provides ventilation air inside for personnel at site. The dry fresh air continuously purges the area or surface and is exhausted to the atmosphere.

c) d) e) f) g)

For determining the requirement of dehumidification of ballast tank the following factors are recommended to be considered: a) b) c) 7.2 Tank and ship factor, which includes size and configuration of ballast tank, its location and availability of space for fitment of equipment. Weather condition, including ambient temperature of air and ship surface during paint application and curing. Absolute humidity or moisture in air.

Type of Dehumidification:

There are basically two types of systems suitable to dehumidify atmospheric air inside enclosed spaces. a) Refrigerant system which chills the air below the dew point, causing the moisture to condense within the unit, thereby reducing the temperature and absolute humidity of air. Desiccant system, which uses a desiccant that absorbs moisture from the air passing over them. A desiccant based system performs absolutely well in all seasons and if engineered with chillers it could be made to control the increase in temperature, especially in hot climates. This would, additionally also improve the productivity of the workers inside by making the workspace more comfortable.

b)

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7.3

Electrolytic Descaling of Ballast Tanks

Electrolytic descaling by magnesium strips is recommended for heavily corroded uncoated tanks or where corrosion has caused breakdown of the paint of 70% or more of the area. However it must be emphasized that descaling with magnesium strips is a method of removing the rust and not the paint. The combination of age and neglect of the coating make descaling necessary before a durable after-treatment procedure can be undertaken. The procedure is very simple, the strips are cut in strips of 15m and are welded or clamped to the entire surface at even distance (about 50 cm apart) ensuring a good electrical contact. The tank is then completely filled with seawater and then left for 8 to 14 days. This causes an electrolytic reaction to take place which causes a breakdown of the oxide (i.e. scale and the rust) and a soft calcareous layer forms on the surface of the steel. This forces the rust scale to loosen and fall of the steel surface and drop to the bottom of the tank. The tank is then emptied and washed down with fresh water as soon as possible to remove the rust scale, salt and grayish jelly-like calcareous layer which are formed under the rust scale during the descaling process. This layer is easy to remove when wet, but hard and difficult to remove when dry. The tank is then dried with dehumidification equipment. After descaling and cleaning, the tank can be cathodically protected and appropriate paint scheme applied. 8.0 Coating Application

All ballast and cargo tank coatings are designated as Class 0 products. The class 0 products are those products that have very high performance requirements. The application of the coating should be a well-planned activity, integrated in the shipyards construction plans and carried out under controlled conditions to avoid any conflicts with any other operations. Based on the experience and guidelines of various classification societies, major guidelines for paint application can be summarised as follows: a) Coatings, including the primer and intermediate coats, should only be applied on surfaces prepared to requisite standards and checked to confirm their suitability prior to coating application. As the vast majority of the ballst tank products are two component products, it is imperative that all the mixing of paints before application is carried out thoroughly and correctly. Stirring of each component, unless one is clear solution, should be carried out before mixing and further stirring. Mechanical or power stirring should always be used when the mixing of two-pack products is carried out. One should ensure that the mixing process does not entrain air into the paint. The trapped air in paint can cause bubbling and cissing in applied coatings, particularly stripe coatings which are applied by brush or roller.

b)

c)

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d)

Addition of thinner in ballast tank coatings is best avoided. Care should be taken to ensure that the thinners are not just added to compensate for the defects in spraying setup, insufficient air supply, too long fluid lines, worn tips etc. Thinners should be limited to those types and quantities recommended by the manufacturer. Coatings should be applied by spraying in controlled atmosphere, humidity and surface temperature conditions. Additional stripe coats, if required by the job specifications, should be applied by brush or roller to welds, edges, behind stiffeners, scallops, ladders and areas not easily accessible. Each coating layer should have the maximum/minimum thickness. An 80/20 practice may be adopted, which means that 80% of all thickness measurements should be greater than or equal to the nominal dry film thickness and none of the remaining 20% DFTs are below 80% of the specified DFTs. Care should be taken to avoid increasing the thickness in an exaggerated way. Excessive thickness may lead to dangerous consequences, such as solvent and thinner retention, film cracks, gas pockets etc. Wet thickness should always be checked during paint application. Each coating layer should be adequately cured before the application of next coat. Care should also be taken that the intermediate coats must not be contaminated with dirt, grease, salt, dust, over spray etc. The job specification should always include the dry-to-re-coat times. Adequate ventilation is necessary for proper curing of the coating. Ventilation should be maintained throughout the application process and for a period after application is completed.

e) f)

g)

h)

i)

j)

8.1

Testing and Inspection of Coatings

Major Guidelines for testing and inspection of marine coating for ballast tanks are as follows : a) b) Destructive testing should be avoided. Adhesion Test: The objective of this test procedure is to detect problems with adhesion at the earliest possible stage and thereby prevent potentially very large problems showing up later in the coating process. However, Intercoat adhesion test is recommended after completion of the full coating system, when the scheme has hardened sufficiently. These tests should be carried out in sample areas. The sample areas are

13 recommended to be selected such that the one area is where the ventilation is proper and the other area is where ventilation is more difficult and one would expect little air movement. The test is not required to be undertaken on stripe coated areas. The test should be carried out prior to touching up and final inspection, to allow for the repair of the area damaged by the test. The number of tests required depends upon the tank size. As a guide it is recommended to undertake one test per 500m2 of area. After the coating has been cured, the coating should be subjected to a seawater test prior to the work being approved. The test should highlight pinholes, mechanical damage etc, which could not have been detected by normal visual inspection. For this purpose each tank should be fully ballasted by seawater for a minimum of 24 hrs to a maximum of 5 days. Rust staining will highlight the areas of damage. The tanks must then be thoroughly washed down with fresh water followed by total repair of all substandard areas. Dry film thickness measurement should be carried out after each coat, not just at the end of the coating application, by using appropriate thickness gauges. Environment conditions such as ambient temperature, dew point, relative humidity and moisture should always be monitored. The painted surfaces should always be shielded from the blast cleaning operation. Thickness of each coat to be measured at maximum number of locations. Cleaning of coated surfaces before application of next coat. Coating should be repaired immediately on detection of defect. Any defective areas e.g. pin holes, bubbles, voids, etc are to be marked up and appropriate repairs affected. All such repairs are to be rechecked for any un-coated areas. Tank Coating hazards/Safety Precautions

c)

d) e) f) g) h) i)

9.0

The tank coating is considered to be the most hazardous job while painting of the ship. Some of these hazards are as follows: a) Toxic and Flammable Gas: Before any tank work can start on old tanks, the tank must be monitored for toxic and flammable gas and oxygen deficiency. One should not enter the tank until they have been certified for gas free. Gas monitoring during the actual tank coating operation itself is normally restricted to checking solvent vapour levels. b) Before any coating work starts inside the tank all the hot work must be completed in way of the tanks and in adjacent spaces so that welding and burning cannot produce hot surface in the tank which is being painted. c) Most paints contain flammable solvents and some contain materials that can harm the skin, or damage the health if swallowed or inhaled. Precautions are

14 therefore required to be taken to reduce the health risks, in accordance with the appropriate safety regulations, to ensure that safe working conditions are achieved. The health risks may include: (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) (d) Gases or vapours solvents i.e. solvent evaporation during the drying period, or formed during the heating of the painted object, which may exceed the permissible exposure limit. Liquid in paint, i.e. solvents, or binders which may be toxic if swallowed or inhaled as spray droplets, or if in contact with the skin. Fumes, powders or dust, formed during heating painted objects (e.g. flame cutting or welding painted steel) or present in the powder formed during sanding operations or in the spray mist. Personnel engaged in blasting or painting inside the confined areas must be equipped with fresh air masks/hoods for breathing and protection. Explosion proof lighting equipment should be used.

Ventilation

Good air ventilation is necessary to provide the efficient removal of solvent vapours from the tanks and thus prevent the formation of explosive concentration of solvent/air. Good air ventilation will also ensure the removal of solvents from the paint film and thus allow proper curing to take place. Most solvents evaporate from the coating during and immediately after application. However, residual solvents are continuously released throughout the cure period of the coating. These solvents can adversely affect the cure and performance of the finished coating unless they are vented out from the tank. It is therefore recommended that the total volume of the air in the tank is charged up to 10 times per hour, depending upon the type of coating. This rate of ventilation should be maintained for at least 48 hours after the application of the complete coating system. 10.0 Cathodic Protection of Ballast Tanks

Sacrificial anodes are recommended for the protection of ballast tanks. Unpainted tanks require a large amount of well-distributed anodes. However, by combining anodes with the coatings the amount of anodes can be reduced. The reduction being dependent upon the quality and the thickness of the coating used. Among various types of anodes options available, aluminium alloy anodes offer a two third weight advantage over zinc. This can be advantageous to improve the ships loading capacity. However, certain restrictions apply, as there is possible spark hazard with aluminium but not with zinc. The design of the sacrificial system for a ballast tank will be based on following factors: General arrangement, mid-ship and longitudinal sections plan and capacity plan Tank type, ballast only, cargo-ballast or segregated ballast tanks in tankers Wetted surface area including supports, pipes, ladders etc Current density, to be decided by an expert Expected lifetime of anodes

15 11.0 Condition of tank coating and degree of deterioration Ballast period, percentage of total time in service and average ballast time

Maintenance

The success of a ballast tank coating, both in new building and existing ships, is determined by two simple factors such as the quality of the paint and its application on well prepared surface. Maintenance of the corrosion prevention system should include in the overall ships maintenance scheme. The effectiveness of the corrosion prevention system should be verified during the ships life. The most effective and efficient way to preserve the corrosion prevention system is to repair any defects found during the inservice inspections (e.g. spot rusting, local breakdown at edges of stiffeners etc.). While undertaking the patch repair care should be taken to use the similar paint system that would have been used at the new construction stage. The inter compatibility should be checked prior to the re-coating operation. If the required condition for the application of the original coating are achievable, a coating more tolerant of lower quality of surface treatment, humidity and temperature conditions, may be considered, provided that it is applied and maintained in accordance with the manufacturers specifications. When the coating is supplemented with cathodic protection, the maintenance routine should include the replacement of the sacrificial anodes and the inspection of coating around the anode support. 12.0 Conclusion

Since 1990, water ballast tanks have become the subject of numerous regulations. One of the main reasons for this being tanker and bulk carrier losses in the past where the main cause of failure was structural losses due to corrosion. The recommendation of both IACS and IMO concerning those coatings for ballast tanks, which improve health and safety as well as facilitate ease of inspections, have resulted in a move away from coal-tar-based coatings. Coupled with this is the growth of local legislation, especially that related to a coatings volatile organic content (VOC). The net effect of these restrictions is a steady move to products with higher- volume solid content. The age of the world fleet is changing and the fleet is growing older. The less rigorous regulations of the past allowed minimal maintenance of ballast tank coatings and rust became an unseen but ever-present threat to the ship, traffic and most visibly to the environment. The service life of many ships are now determined not by the external battering of the ships hull by the waves but by the gradual internal corrosion of the ballast tanks. Governing regulation of the classification societies are enforcing enhanced survey programme that is likely to have both cost and time implications for the vessels operators. The lifetime of the ballast tank coatings can be doubled by frequent inspections and maintenance on breakdowns. As the ballast tanks can be difficult areas to repair in

16 service plus they typically require considerable investment and planning at major refurbishment it is worthwhile to select the right type of coating at the building stage itself. The success of any ballast tank coating largely depends on several factors, including the correct selection of scheme at the new building stage and correct application procedures.