Hull Steelworks, Blasting & Painting
Corrosion never sleeps, and neither does Ship’s Solutions when it comes to hull preservation. Our steelworks and surface-protection division offers an end-to-end service that starts with ultrasonic thickness mapping and ends with a mirror-smooth antifouling topcoat. Advanced crawler scanners feed thickness data into colour-coded 3-D models, allowing us to pinpoint wastage hotspots with surgical precision. Rather than replace entire strakes, we cut only what is strictly necessary, optimising both material costs and dry-dock time. Replacement plates are bevelled by CNC plasma to exact camber and sheer, then pre-curved on rolling mills so hull fairness is restored without excessive fairing compound. Every weld gets a dual-technology inspection: magnetic-particle for near-surface flaws, phased-array UT for volumetric defects.
Once structural integrity is assured, we shift focus to surface preparation. Enclosed-blast generators maintain constant grit velocity and automatic media recycling, achieving Sa 2½ cleanliness while reducing waste streams by 48 percent compared to open-nozzle methods. De-humidification units hold ambient RH below 60 percent, giving the coating system its optimal window to bond. We apply up to five-coat epoxy and polysiloxane schemes with airless plural-component pumps that guarantee accurate mix ratios even during rapid application. Stripe coats on edges and weld seams are applied manually by technicians trained to SSPC standards, preventing premature edge rust and extending the service interval out to five or even seven years depending on trading pattern.
Performance-Driven Coating Strategy
Protective performance is only half the equation. A fouled hull can increase fuel burn by 10 percent or more, so we adopt silicone or silyl acrylate antifoulings combined with hull-roughness monitoring to keep the boundary layer slick. On a recent 180 K DWT Capesize, our blend of high-solid tie-coat and next-generation foul-release topcoat delivered a verified two-knots speed improvement at constant RPM, saving over 1,100 tonnes of fuel oil in the first year alone. Each project concludes with a detailed coating log submitted to class and uploaded to the IMO’s Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP) records, supporting owners in their EEXI and CII documentation.
Safety underpins every operation. Hot-work permits, confined-space entry, and grit-blast PPE procedures follow ISGOTT and IACS guidelines, while continuous air monitoring ensures worker welfare. Waste grit is collected, graded, and recycled where feasible, with hazardous residues disposed of via licensed facilities. By integrating structural renewal and advanced coatings into one tightly managed workflow, Ship’s Solutions not only strengthens your vessel’s skin but also its bottom-line efficiency.