Foam fenders can be refurbished once in their lifetime extending their lifetime and making them more sustainable
ShibataFenderTeam Group (SFT) has recently completed one such project for German’s Port of Kiel.
The set of Ocean Guard Fenders were originally supplied to the Port of Kiel in 2011 during which time they have been in continuous use and the outer PU skin was beginning to show the usual signs of wear and abrasion.
”Although performance of the fenders is still guaranteed even after ten years, it is often worth having them overhauled at least once because but to extend their lifetime even further,” said a spokesperson from SFT.
”The refurbishment of foam fenders is a sustainable and cost-effective alternative to buying new ones which makes this product contribute to SFT’s way of putting the focus more and more on the sustainability of its products.”
Green refurbishment
For the Kiel refurbishment project, SFT overhauled 11 Ocean Guard Fenders with a diameter of 1000 mm and a length of 3000 mm. The overall turnaround time was about five weeks from the pickup and overhaul to the reinstallation at the port.
The fenders were reinstalled at berth 32a at the seaport of Kiel and will now give a further decade of service.
SFT’s refurbishment service includes the transport of the fenders to its production plant in Rechlin, Germany and the corresponding inspected by its experts to assess all needed repairs.
To renew the PU skin, the factory grinds down the current PU layers and then applies a new PU skin with a thickness of around 20 mm, the skin thickness depends on overall dimension of the fender, on the rough surface of the prepared fender.
As part of the overhaul, typically the internal chain as well as the swivel, swivel plate and bolts are also replaced, as corrosion inevitably appears on steel elements after ten years in seawater.
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