Keeping Sailors Dry - Belzona Solutions
BELZONA Offices, Distributors and Partners combine for DSV Repair Project
Azerbaijan-based distributor TRAST BV in conjunction with Composite-Service Ltd., Russian Maritime Register of Shipping and Belzona Asia Pacific recently completed a potentially difficult application project for the repair and protection of an accommodation module roof on board a Diving Support Vessel operating in the Caspian Sea.
The Belzona Head Office in the UK originally received the enquiry from the Superintendent of the vessel and duly forwarded it on to the Caspian/CIS Business Development Team at Belzona Asia Pacific.
The vessel was suffering from serious pitting and corrosion on the roof resulting in persistent leaks into the accommodation module. Although the vessel was in dry dock at the Baku Shipyard, access to the damaged roof was difficult as it was directly underneath the helideck. Initial consideration by the client was to replace the whole roof, however, this would involve removing the helideck above and with such a short time frame to complete the repairs this was not a viable option.
CORROSION DAMAGE TO THE ACCOMMODATION MODULE ROOF
SURFACE PREPARATION OF THE ROOF AREA
Marine Engineers suggested BELZONA PRODUCTS as a possible solution, although not familiar with Belzona, the vessel owners quickly convened a meeting with all parties concerned including representatives from Belzona Asia Pacific to ascertain the effectiveness of Belzona in this situation. Belzona, with its in-depth knowledge of these types of repairs, advised the customer of the optimal system, products required and provided a method statement along with case studies of similar repair projects.
As the corrosion to the roof was so severe and the damaged area having very limited access, surface preparation by blasting was not possible and would have to be carried out manually. With this in mind, a system of surface tolerant Belzona products was proposed, consisting of Belzona 1161, 5831 and 9341 reinforcement sheets. All parties agreed that the Belzona system was the optimal one.
To satisfy the requirements of the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping Belzona Asia Pacific coordinated for two highly experienced application supervisors from St. Petersburg-based Belzona distributor, Composite-Service Ltd. to oversee the repairs. As this project was time-critical the Belzona UK Order Management Team worked tirelessly to ensure all the required products were delivered to the Baku Shipyard in readiness for the arrival of the application team. To prepare the surface for application, the team removed all the loose rust, paint and other debris with hard scrapers, chipping hammers, chisels and grinders. The entire substrate was then cleaned with Belzona 9111 Cleaner/Degreaser. Belzona 1161 was mixed and applied to the pitted areas and further applications of Belzona 1161 were made to ensure the pits were completely filled and that no bridging over holed areas had occurred.
BELZONA 1161 APPLIED TO THE DAMAGED AREAS OF THE ROOF
APPLICATION COMPLETED WITH FINAL COAT OF BELZONA 5831
Each of the damaged areas was smoothed out with Belzona applicators to ensure no bumps or ridges remained for the subsequent overcoating with Belzona 5831. After the Belzona 1161 application had fully cured, the application team used short bristle brushes to apply the first coat of Belzona 5831 and then applied a layer of Belzona 9341 reinforcement sheet. The second coat of Belzona 5831 was then applied and paint rollers were used to smooth out the surface and complete the application. For the more severely damaged areas of the roof which included cracks and through holes, prefabricated steel patch plates were bonded to the substrate with Belzona 1161 before the applications of Belzona 5831.
"This project highlights the effectiveness of the Belzona global network in providing solutions across all our regions in a timely manner, several departments and offices worked in conjunction with each other to deliver a seamless execution of the repair project, much to the delight of the vessel operator."
Article by: Earl Brown – Marketing Executive at Belzona Asia Pasific
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