Written by
Nick Blenkey
Bow Trajectory
Avon, Ohio, headquartered specialty coatings producer Superior Polymer Coatings (APC) has signed a take care of Norway’s Odfjell Tankers to recoat tanks in three of its chemical tankers.
The work will see APC changing the tanks’ zinc coating with its MarineLINE protecting tank coating, with the recoating work set to get underway on the Chengxi Shipyard Co. Ltd in Jiangyin metropolis, Jiangsu province, China in March 2024 and proceed till July.
The 46,098 DWT Bow Elm would be the first tanker to bear the work, with six of its 29 tanks receiving MarineLINE coating to exchange zinc. This follows earlier recoating work carried out on the vessel by APC in 2021.
The 49,622 DWT Bow Trajectory can have eight of its 22 tanks transformed from zinc to MarineLINE, whereas the 49,622 DWT Bow Trident can have all 22 of its tanks transformed.
All three vessels had been in-built South Korea. Bow Elm was delivered in 2011 and the Trajectory and Trident in 2014.
Odfjell started its technique of changing zinc coating with MarineLINE in its older vessels in 2019 and has developed a robust working relationship with APC.
“Though some shipowners use zinc-lined carriers for methanol service, this technique eliminates versatility of their operation, leading to misplaced income if the ship returns with none backhaul cargo after making its supply. It actually doesn’t add up commercially for them any longer,” says MarineLINE world buyer care supervisor Stephen Jarvie.
“Zinc coatings even have excessive absorption traits, which may trigger some cargo retention and result in purity points in subsequent cargoes, limiting backhauling and repair,” notes Jarvie. “House owners and operators seeking to maximize their operations can see the advantages of MarineLINE and the flexibility to hold a larger vary of cargoes that its use permits.”
MarineLine has been developed to present safety in opposition to hundreds of extremely aggressive chemical compounds and, consequently, protects cargo tanks from extra IMO authorized chemical compounds than some other coating available on the market,
“MarineLINE gives a transparent cleansing benefit to our clients, that means they will flip their vessels round shortly and clear with much less harsh chemical compounds, all whereas saving money and time. In a extremely aggressive setting this stuff actually make a distinction,” says APC’s VP of gross sales and advertising and marketing, Matt Sokol. “The most recent contract with Odfjell can also be one other instance of a much-valued buyer returning for extra work from us as a result of they will clearly see the industrial advantages that we ship for them.”
APC now has round a 12% share of the worldwide chemical tanker coating market with some 700 ships worldwide coated with MarineLINE. Exports underpin APC’s progress with key markets together with China, the Arabian Gulf, Croatia, and Turkey.
To cater to the rising demand for MarineLINE in shipyards in Asia, Europe and America, APC is at present doubling the scale of its U.S. manufacturing facility with a multi-million greenback, eight determine enlargement venture.
Building work is underway and as soon as open the brand new manufacturing facility will lengthen the corporate’s R&D amenities and quadruple manufacturing capability with a brand new automated manufacturing system.
The expanded plant is anticipated to start operations in fourth quarter 2024. It represents APC’s largest funding in its 27-year historical past.
APC has additionally invested in a brand new digital platform for purchasers to assist vessel crews and vessel operators handle chemical cargoes with extra safely. It has lately gone stay.
The brand new MarineLINE Buyer Care platform has been created to allow transport traces to raised perceive keep APC’s MarineLINE tank coating and the aggressive cargoes it allows them to hold.
The portal is the results of a year-long collaboration with a few of the largest chemical tanker operators on the earth, together with APC buyer Bahri.
The platform is accessed by way of the APC web site and is designed to deal with the first ache factors of cargo tank upkeep. The portal options particulars on greater than 2,000 chemical compounds and the vessels worldwide which were coated with MarineLINE.
