Newbuilding Report

Newbuilding Universal Primers

International Paint is introducing a new range of universal primers for the newbuilding market to address the productivity, regulatory, performance and commercial needs of shipyards and ship owners alike.

hipbuilding productivity and operational performance continue to drive product development in the marine coatings sector but, increasingly, the need to enhance safety and protect the environment has seen regulation setting many of the ground rules. This combination of legislative and commercial drivers can be readily seen for example in the way tributyl tin was banned from use in antifouling coatings, prompting the introduction of new generation TBT-free self polishing copolymer coatings across the industry plus the additional offering of alternative foul release technology to meet particular operator demands. The same drivers have been brought to bear on the anticorrosive coatings used to protect steel structures. Here, selection of the optimum coatings system at the newbuilding stage is critical, followed by a carefully planned and executed maintenance programme. From the commercial perspective, selecting the optimum coating can positively influence ship building productivity, reduce complexity and improve through life vessel operating efficiency. For both shipbuilder and ship owner, however, selecting the optimum paint system can prove challenging, given the sheer number of anticorrosive products and technologies available. In the past, weighing up considerations such as production scheduling, overcoating intervals,

Universal Primer vessel application areas. Universal primers reduce complexity and improve productivity by replacing several products with a single product that can be applied to all block sections, simplifying the coating process required corrosion control and abrasion resistance, plus installation costs and required in-service performance, led to different primer systems being selected for different vessel areas at newbuilding block stage. One block could be coated with several different paint products. In turn, frequent cleaning of spraying equipment was required to change systems, while risks were high of applicator error, cross contamination and increased paint consumption and wastage from partially used or cured paint units. Block join-up procedures and maintenance of mixed systems brought further complications.

Universal flexibility
In general terms, addressing these complications saw the advent of the first universal primers, enabling shipyards to manage block painting more efficiently and maximise productivity. Initially, dark coal tar epoxies were favoured for both economic and anticorrosive performance reasons. However, over time, their popularity diminished, due to a powerful combination of health and safety and commercial considerations. In short, their demise can be traced

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to concerns over applicator health and safety and recommendations from the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) to improve coatings inspection conditions, combined with the need to improve shipyard productivity and a growing operator requirement for better in service performance with reduced future maintenance. In their place came light coloured, modified or mastic tar-free epoxy anticorrosive coatings. In simple terms, these products were developed by replacing the black coal tar with light coloured hydrocarbon resins. These coatings could also be overcoated by antifoulings and topside finishes, thereby further extending their use to multiple vessel areas. After the large scale adoption of these tar free modified epoxy coatings, an increasing number of shipyards and ship operators who had experienced their limitations, were demanding increased coatings productivity and performance that could only be delivered by genuine pure epoxy universal primer systems. Pure epoxy meaning that the product polymer system is not modified with hydrocarbon resins, non reactive diluents or plasticisers.

New statutory regime

The acceptance of light coloured, epoxy universal primers was made explicit as part of the 2006 adoption of the Performance Standard for Protective Coatings at IMO, which provided new technical requirements for protective coatings in dedicated seawater ballast tanks of all types of ships of not less than 500 gross tonnage and double-side skin spaces arranged in bulk carriers of 150 m in length and upwards. The PSPC entered into force for all shipbuilding contracts placed on or after 1 July 2008. The PSPC Standard states that the ability of the coating system to reach its target useful life (15 years) in good condition depends on the type of coating system, steel preparation, application and coating inspection and maintenance. Again, the inspection

of surface preparation and coating processes shall be agreed upon between the ship owner, the shipyard and the coating manufacturer and presented to the Flag Administration or its Recognised Organisation for review. Clear evidence of these inspections shall be reported in a Coating Technical File. For an epoxy-based system, the required nominal total dry film thickness (NDFT) is 320 m with 90/10 rules. The PSPC regime has direct commercial consequences. Shipyards may have to consider new production procedures and provide more documentation to meet PSPC inspection criteria, as well as needing to train more staff to FROSIO (Faglig Rd for Opplring og Sertifisering av Inspektreri i O) level III or NACE (National Association of Corrosion Engineers) level 2, certification inspection standards. In turn, shipowners can expect to benefit from lower maintenance costs but also to endure additional costs at the newbuilding stage. But there is also another critical regulatory issue now acting on coatings suppliers and shipyards, driven by environmental demands to reduce the use of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in marine paints. The EUs SED (Solvents Emissions Directive), for example, specifically regulates VOC emissions used in facilities such as shipyards. In the U.S., there are also a series of regulations governing VOCs in shipbuilding, while other countries, such as Hong Kong, are also regulating in this area.

Intershield 300 applied at newbuilding in a ballast tank after 13 years in service. Note excellent condition emissions, such as the EUs Solvents Emissions Directive. Whilst newbuilding shipyards all have different construction methods, build different vessels, are exposed to seasonal fluctuations in climatic conditions and are subject to global and local regulation, the new range of universal primers offers shipyards worldwide customised products to meet those different needs. For the newbuilding shipyard the product range offers universal application, high volume solids with low VOC, year round workability with fast drying, low temperature cure and long overcoating intervals. For the ship owner the range provides long term asset protection with controlled through life maintenance costs, high performance corrosion and abrasion resistance and PSPC compliance. Leading the range is Intershield 300. With a proven, very successful 21 year track record, Intershield 300 has been applied on over 9,000 vessels in almost 350 newbuilding shipyards worldwide and is the industry benchmark in IMO PSPC compliant anticorrosive performance. This unique abrasion resistant, (>9%) aluminium pure epoxy coating can be applied to multiple vessel areas over mechanically prepared shop primer and offers long term asset protection and control of through life maintenance costs. New Intershield 300HS, is a high solids version of the market leading

A range of options
To address the productivity, regulatory, performance and commercial needs of shipyards and ship owners alike, International Paint is introducing a new range of universal primers for the newbuilding market. Ship builders and owners can now better choose how they meet productivity and performance targets and comply with PSPC and new regional regulations limiting VOC

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technology which offers 78% volume solids, lower VOC and application direct from the can. With the aluminium content maintained >9%, Intershield 300HS will continue to deliver the same outstanding corrosion control the shipping industry has come to expect. The VOC content of Intershield 300HS is low, at 206g/litre. As the SED is measured in g/kg, this is well within SED limits at 152g/kg. In the case of a 3,700TEU capacity containership, switching to Intershield 300HS from a typical lower solids primer could achieve net VOC emissions saving of 14.5 tonnes In developing Intershield 300HS, International Paint points out that the long and very, successful track record of Intershield 300 is based on a balance of many aspects of the formulation. Any changes in that formulation would affect other product attributes, such as anticorrosive performance. Developing a high solids product is not therefore simply a matter of removing some solvent. Accordingly, common to the two products, aluminium levels have been kept at >9% by weight in the dry film to ensure anticorrosive performance is maintained. Again, application properties have been maintained to ensure that Intershield 300HS can normally be applied straight from the can without the need for thinning. The significance of this last point is clear from International Paints contention that Whilst there are many high solids universal primers on the market, they can be high viscosity and require thinning before they can be applied. Having to thin a product before application means a reduction in the solids volume of the coating. A typical 80% volume solids universal primer may require as much as 15% thinning before application. It takes around 200,000 litres of such a paint to coat a 300,000 dwt VLCC, implying a requirement for 30,000 litres of thinners. With thinners priced at around $3 per litre for example, that adds up to a hidden cost of around $90,000, according to International Paint.

Intergard 787, outside shell at newbuilding

Intergard 7600 after 6 months in a cargo hold

Independent testimony
For comments on application, International Paint went direct to well known South Korean coatings subcontractor Kang-Nam for views on Intershield 300HS. According to sprayer Mr. DoChul Kim: This paint showed the characteristic of an enamel resin based paint and the surface was very smooth. Even without thinning, it showed excellent sprayability. There was no sagging so I feel it was tailor made for yard workers to help us work more easily and efficiently. In addition, I couldnt find any overspray. I think this product will do very well in this field. Again, International Paint is not simply relying on its own testimony to advance its claims for the performance of Intershield 300HS. The manufacturer cites research from SINTEF Materials Technology, which

concluded aluminium pigmentation significantly reduces cathodic disbonding and improves resistance to blistering in comparison to standard extenders and glass flake. The SINTEF report also confirms that aluminium additions to both pure epoxy and hydrocarbon modified epoxy coatings show considerable improvement to anticorrosive properties, and suggests that aluminium acts both as a barrier pigment and also actively at the steel surface to prevent the spread of corrosion (the so-called buffering effect). International Paint says its own experience suggests that other inert lamellar pigments (e.g. mica) can only act in the same way as glass flake and that such pigments are far less effective than aluminium. As noted, however, Intershield

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300 and Intershield 300HS are just two products in the complete range of universal primers now being offered by International Paint, reflecting the fact that newbuilding yards worldwide pursue varying construction methods, build different vessel types, face differing seasonal fluctuations in climatic conditions and have different requirements from a universal primer in terms of application, drying times and overcoating intervals. New Intergard 7600 is a light coloured pure epoxy universal primer, which provides good corrosion and abrasion resistance and simplified block coating procedures. It offers excellent application properties, low temperature workability and true long term overcoating intervals with no requirement for surface roughening. Overcoating intervals up to 6 months have been validated by extensive winter and summer testing in China and Europe in order to provide flexibility in the coating process and improve shipyard productivity. Intergard 7600 can be applied at low temperature down to -5C, which also acts as an aid to shipyard productivity in winter. Feedback since the first applications in China in 2008, indicates that Intergard 7600 demonstrates good application properties, quick drying and does not

Univeral Primers: product positioning normally require thinning. Intergard 787, first launched in 2000, and targeted specifically at shipyards in South Korea, is a high volume solids (80%), light coloured aluminium pure epoxy universal primer offering year round workability to improve productivity. Once more, high solids content means reduced VOC emissions, application time and cost, as well as cutting the amount of cleaner used, wastage and packaging. Intergard 787 has an excellent track record in Korean newbuilding. New Intergard 5600 and Intergard 5620 complete the range. These light coloured, epoxy universal primers have evolved from the successful Intergard 403 and Intergard 423 technologies and benefit from IMO PSPC certification with a range of approved shop primers. These products have excellent sprayability

performance

all year round and have proven long term anticorrosive performance with an extensive track record of over 1,600 ships at newbuilding. Their improved overcoatability, which has been validated by extensive winter and summer testing in various locations worldwide, provides the application flexibility required of a universal primer. International Paints universal primers are all compliant with the most stringent environmental legislation, such as the SED. To the casual observer, in doing the same job, they may all thus be seen as similar products. However, while operating in an increasingly competitive environment, more discerning shipyards and owners may welcome the opportunity to strike their own balance when weighing up price paid versus productivity and performance promised.

Universal Primer Range at a Glance

Product Chemistry Aluminium VS % VOC (g/lt) PSPC Hard Dry @ 5C Maximum O/C @ 5C Non Immersed Areas Intershield 300 Intershield 300HS Intergard 787 Intergard 7600 Intergard 5600 * Intergard 5620 ** Pure Epoxy Pure Epoxy Pure Epoxy Pure Epoxy Modified Epoxy Modified Epoxy (> 9% by weight in dry film (> 9% by weight in dry film (1st coat) 60% 386g/lt Yes 8hrs 6 months Immersed Areas 14 days Minimum Time to Ballast @ 5C 7 days

78%

206g/lt

Yes

14 hrs

2 months

14 days

3 days

80% 68% 68%

214g/lt 298g/lt 304g/lt

Yes Yes Yes

14 hrs 16 hrs 40 hrs (12 hrs @ 25C) 14 hrs

14 days 6 months 4 months

14 days 6 months 28 days

5 days 3 days 14 days (5 days @ 25C) 6 days

68%

320g/lt

Yes

3 months

15 days

* Summer cure ** Winter cure For more information, please contact Hugh OMahony, Director, PR, JLA Media Ltd, t: +44 (0)20 8370 1741, m: +44 (0)7949 708 679, e: hugh.omahony@j-l-a.com, www.j-l-a.com
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