Cathelco have recently received orders for equipment to be installed on a number of specialised ships which are being built by Croatian yards, the company said in its press release.
One example is the first of two new product tankers which are being built by Uljanik at the Brodogradiliste 3 Maj yard for the Swedish shipping company Wisby Tankers.
The 1,500 dwt tankers will be used for transporting supplies of asphalt, oil and chemicals with the first ship scheduled for delivery by the end of 2015.
Cathelco are supplying an impressed current cathodic protection (ICCP) system for the vessel which will safeguard the hull surface against corrosion. The system consists of a control panel and an arrangement of anodes and reference electrodes mounted port and starboard. In operation the reference electrodes measure the electrical potential at the hull/seawater interface and send a signal to the control panel which raises or lowers the output to the anodes. In this way, the hull receives the optimum level of corrosion protection at all times.
An ICCP system is also being supplied for the first of two chemical tankers which are being constructed at the 3 Maj yard for the Spanish shipping company Marflet. The 50,000dwt vessels of 183m length overall will be delivered by the end of 2015 and 2016 respectively.
“Increasing numbers of owners are recognising the advantages of installing ICCP systems at newbuilding in order to eliminate corrosion and reduce maintenance costs throughout the life of the vessel”, said Anna Siodlak, who has been closely involved with the project at Cathelco.
The new Gosport ferry to be named ‘Harbour Spirit’ is reaching the final stages of construction at the Tehnomont Brodogradiliste yard in Pula, Croatia. The 32.9m vessel will be capable of transporting up to 300 passengers, bicycles and motorbikes between Portsmouth and Gosport in the UK.
For small ferries and commercial craft, Cathelco have developed the Minitek ICCP system to protect against hull corrosion. This has the advantage of a compact control panel to economise on space, whilst the anodes are small and flush mounted with a 15 year life – far longer than traditional sacrificial anodes. Designed to the same principles as the larger ICCP systems, it provides reliable, precisely governed protection for smaller vessels.
The Viktor Lenac yard in Rijeka are currently converting the non-propelled mooring cable lay barge Cable Enterprise for Prysmian Powerlink Services, the UK subsidiary of the Prysmian Group.
Following conversion, the vessel will be provided with DP2 system, two new engine rooms, a bow extension/bulb containing two tunnel thrusters, two drop-down thrusters, two new decks on the accommodation block and a back deck.
In addition to supplying ICCP systems, Cathelco are well known as world leaders in marine pipework anti-fouling systems which prevent blockages in pipes caused by barnacles and mussels. They will be providing anti-fouling systems for four seachests on the Cable Enterprise to protect pipework systems connected to seawater cooling pumps, bilge pumps, fire fighting pumps and ballast pumps.
Each of seachests will be installed with pairs of copper and aluminium anodes fed with an electrical current from control panels. In operation, the copper anodes produce ions which create an environment where barnacle and mussel larvae do not settle or breed. At the same time, the aluminium anodes produce ions which form an anti-corrosive layer on the internal surfaces of pipes. As a dual purpose system, the equipment prevents the build-up of bio-fouling and suppresses corrosion.
All of the orders for equipment have been won by Elsenia, Cathelco’s well established Croatian agent based Rijeka.