Page 49: of Marine News Magazine (March 2016)
Push boats, Tugs & Assist Vessels
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COATINGS & CORROSION
Beach, Florida and based on calcula- tions we believe we can extend the life of the coating to twice as much,” he insists, adding, “So, if you have ? ve- year warranty on the same paint, you can potentially push that to ten years.”
In the meantime, Battelle is look- ing to apply their coating technology in collaboration with other industry stakeholders. Cindy Conner, Bat- telle’s senior market manager explains, “We’re relying on our partners to de- cide and we’re already working on for- mulations with our additives. It takes a long time because it is corrosion, so tests are taking a long time – if they didn’t take a long time, that would mean the technology wasn’t effective.
While all that testing is going on we’re also talking to some end-users in some of the protective infrastructure types.”
At the end of the day, Battelle could very well position their technology and apply it as a standalone coating, but that’s not really their intent. Instead, they’re looking to position the technol- ogy to protect paint coatings that are applied to vulnerable surfaces. Armed with technology that promises to both detect and mitigate corrosion as soon as it starts, that’s also a great place to be.
Pro? ts, Not Costs: in Coatings
You can’t sugar ‘coat’ the challenges ahead, but you can prepare for them.
The regulatory hammer, freight rates and uncertain tonnage volumes all loom large on the proverbial horizon.
Searching for savings in all of that can be dif? cult, especially if you are looking for that ‘love’ in all the wrong places.
Amortizing the cost of proper coatings now may well be the ticket to pro? ts later. That’s because the safety and com- fort of your crew, the lifespan of your hull coatings, condition and effective- ness of your piping systems, and a hun- dred other metrics, may well depend on it. Taking care of all of that now can be accomplished in one, smooth ‘stroke.’ 49 www.marinelink.com MN
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