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Flow Science Association

Flow Science entered into a new inter- national association agreement with Met- talforma Maqs. Equipamentos E

Tecnologia Ltda to sell and support Flow

Science’s FLOW-3D software in Brazil.

Flow Science, Inc. is a privately-held software company specializing in tran- sient, free-surface CFD modeling soft- ware for industrial and scientific applications worldwide.

On the Web: www.flow3d.com, http://www.mettalforma.com.br

Berg Propulsion

Berg Propulsion made a breakthrough into the Brazilian offshore vessel con- struction market, just a few months after creating a regional office in Rio de

Janeiro. Berg won a contract to equip a 64m oil spill response vessel ordered by

Astromaritima Navegacao at the Es- taleiro Ilha (EISA) shipyard in Rio de

Janeiro. Delivery of the vessel, which will operate for the Brazilian oil giant

Petrobras, is scheduled towards the end of 2011. Berg was tapped to supply a comprehensive propulsion package, in- cluding azimuth and tunnel thrusters, all fitted with Berg’s condition monitoring system. www.bergpropulsion.com

Sherwin-Williams Coatings

At a time when the shipbuilding indus- try is undergoing a renaissance in Brazil,

Sherwin-Williams is playing a strategic role in the fortunes of the shipbuilder

Atlântico Sul, which this summer launched Brazil’s first ship in 14 years,

João Candido, under the Brazilian gov- ernment’s Program for Modernization and Expansion of the Fleet (PROMEF).

In a ceremony attended by Brazilian pres- ident Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the 150,000 dwt tanker left drydock follow- ing the closure of its hull and was rolled out to sea to finish for December deliv- ery. It is the first of a series of 22 ships that are already on the shipyard’s order book, along with the hull of the P-55 plat- form of Brazilian oil giant Petrobras, ac- cording to Angelo Alberto Bellelis,

Atlântico Sul president. Sherwin-

Williams’ Euronavy ES301 coating sys- tem is protecting the new ship’s ballast tanks, and the coating is a significant fac- tor in the shipyard’s productivity as it ful- fills its contract to build ten Suezmax (able to carry up to one million barrels of oil) tankers under PROMEF for Petro- bras. Atlântico Sul is the first of a number of new shipyards coming on line to meet

Petrobras’ surging demand for ships.

Keeping up with that demand requires in- novative approaches to shortening build- ing schedules, and Sherwin-Williams has been driving that innovation. Using the

ES301 coating technology, Atlântico Sul has been able to double its productivity in terms of square meters of surface pre- pared. Construction of João Candido oc- curred while the shipyard itself was being completed. Typically secondary surface preparation at the block stage involves abrasive blasting to prepare steel surfaces and weld seams prior to topcoating. Eu- ronavy ES301 can accomplish the same task using ultra-high-pressure (UHP) water jetting, or hydroblasting, which saves shipbuilders time and money.

Petrobras pioneered the concept of com- bining hydroblasting and coatings that are solvent-free and tolerant of humidity across the operations of Transpetro, its shipowner subsidiary. 70 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News

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