Even coverage

The products required for ports and their equipment need to be rich and robust, ready for exposure in tough corrosion environments, but if the application process isn’t right, operators will face problems from the start, according to Denmark-based coatings specialist, Hempel.

“Customers are making huge investments in port equipment and the coating is only a small part of this investment but very important – and potentially costly, if projects are delayed or performance is not as expected,” says Lars Risum, group segment manager.

“Problems or issues can typically be too low thickness applied, changing weather conditions during application, poor surface preparation, coatings not applied within the specified re-coating intervals, or products from inexperienced suppliers – all issues that can lead to corrosion problems for the operator. If the issues are handled then they will not turn into problems at a later stage,” he explains.

So, ‘optimising’ the application and speed is of extreme importance to ensure problem-free equipment. A robust coating protects the crane from wear and tear, helping extend the crane’s lifetime and reducing the need for maintenance. All this leads to a higher return on investment for port and terminal owners.

Hempel says this can also increase the production throughput and thereby lead to time savings for the equipment manufacturers.

Epoxy primers
The Hempel coating systems typically used for port equipment are zinc-rich epoxy primers, high quality epoxy barrier coatings, and polyurethane topcoats from its HEMPADUR and HEMPATHANE ranges.

The HEMPADUR 15590 is a two-component epoxy primer coating especially for use on surfaces exposed to severe abrasion, while the HEMPATHANE HS 55610 is a volatile organic compounds (VOC)-compliant, two-component polyurethane finishing coat for the protection of structural steel in corrosive environments.

But Hempel’s products are constantly changing, being developed according to customers’ requirements and upcoming demand, ensuring they’re adapted to meet the specific demands of local legislation and environment conditions.

“The demand for protective coatings follows world trade, so is constantly moving, and we see big differences in coating performance within the generic coating technologies,” Mr Risum told Port Strategy.

For the development of new products, the company has R&D centres located globally working on strategic product development within the oil and gas and maritime industries – since new products like these are developed for similar tough environments as port equipment and focus on optimising the application process.

Third-party protection
The company says specifying protective coatings from an experienced international coating supplier rather than sticking to the standard coating supplied by crane manufacturers is also of great importance for port equipment.

“Specifying coatings from an international experienced supplier will give more trust in the performance,” says Mr Risum. “Equally important is the technical service during the application where it is valuable to have a third party that can make inspections to ensure the quality of the application.”

Hempel has more than 600 FROSIO/NACE-certified coating advisors on hand to visit equipment manufacturers, make coating inspections, document, and follow up on the application. They also operate on site to ensure the application is done according to the quality requirements.

After a number of years in the industry, the company has painted a range of equipment in various ports worldwide. Among its latest projects was the delivery of 130,000 litres of coating solutions for the largest port cranes in the world at the ECT Delta Terminal in the Port of Rotterdam.

It worked closely with ECT and ZPMC to ensure the best anti-corrosion solutions were applied to five ship-to-shore cranes, which are 135m high, have an outreach of 24 containers wide and a lifting height of 50m.

Hempel has also supplied coatings to other big names in the industry including Fantuzzi Reggaine, Noell, Liebherr and Paceco.

Mr Risum explains that Hempel’s success in the industry has been down to good collaboration with both port operators and equipment manufacturers – and understanding of requirements for everyone involved, but “the optimal performance of a high quality coating will only ever be reached through proper application”.