Advanced Polymer Coatings' MarineLine 784 cargo tank coating system for chemical tankers is becoming an important factor in new transport markets.
"There is a growing market need for product tankers to carry the expanding group of cargoes such as clean petroleum products (CPPs), bio fuels, vegetable oils, and methanol," said Donald J. Keehan, Chairman of Advanced Polymer Coatings.
"In addition, new regulations for coating tankers carrying oil and dirty petroleum products (DPPs) has also increased interest in MarineLine for these uses.
To date, MarineLine 784 has been used on more than 300 chemical tankers worldwide handling a wide range of aggressive chemical cargoes. MarinLine 784 uses forced hot air heat to cure its coating. This creates a nearly-impermeable coating barrier, thus ensuring product purity from port to port. The ship can carry any cargo immediately after leaving the shipyard.
A key benefit of MarineLine and its extremely smooth and hard surface is that the tank cleaning process goes faster. Because the coating is virtually absorbent-free with low surface energy, less cleaning chemicals are needed, thus less slops are created.
There are also fewer limitations than conventional coatings and stainless steel tankers. This gives the shipowner the opportunity to carry a wide range of profitable cargoes without worrying about the previous cargo residue contaminating the next cargo.
Mr. Keehan says that since its inception, MarineLine has never had an insurance claim made regarding purity, a testimony to the ease of tank cleaning and non-absorbtion of the cargoes carried.
MarineLine 784 is claimed to offer much better performance and versatility than conventional phenolic epoxy or zinc silicate linings, and now, it will be at a cost comparable to conventional coatings.
"The reason we have been able to lower our costs to customers is that within the past year, APC has revised and streamlined its patented polymer manufacturing operation," said Mr. Keehan.
"Previously we employed outside chemical companies to toll-manufacture certain elements of the polymer that serve as a mainstay in the manufacturing of the MarineLine coating. Now these various tasks are done in-house, thus reducing our cost exposure. This will now enable more shipowners and shipyards to specify MarineLine as the product of choice."
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