7.11.

7 Shipbuilding
The coating of ships can be divided into in two segments:
• Commercial ships such as container vessels, tankers and cruisers
• Yachts and other boats for leisure.
Commercial ships are of steel design and require good corrosion protection by paint
coating because the constant effect of salt, particularly in marine transport, seriously
increases the corrosive effect on steel. To assist corrosion protection, particularly under
water, most ships are also cathodically protected by active anodes or extraneous current.
The resulting hydroxyl anions create an alkaline environment, which the ship’s coating
has to withstand by means of saponification resistance [7.12.54].
Furthermore, the paints and coatings must be resistant to algae growth and deposits of
other seawater organisms. This growth not only contaminates the anticorrosive coating
but also constitutes an economic problem. The surface of the hull, which is rough on
account of clinging mussels, reduces the speed of ships and increases diesel fuel
consumption by up to 10%. Resistant coatings extend the intervals between ship
maintenance in dock by 30%. Consequently, in relation to the world fleet approx.
US $ 1.5 billion a year can be saved if appropriately resistant coatings are used. Tin
compounds in addition to copper oxide in the appropriate formulations are state of the
art at the moment for the biocidal action of underwater coatings. These formulations,
which are termed “antifouling” coatings, emit their inorganic compounds more or less
quickly during the course of their functional life and thus cause the algae in the direct
vicinity of the coating to be destroyed. The toxicological risk of organic tin compounds
such as TBT (tri-butyl tin compounds) has prompted enormous development efforts in
order to search for new substances and other solutions (see chapter 2.1.4) [7.12.55].
Suitable coatings are also used in the growing market for drilling platforms.
Further requirements for the coating ships have to be observed depending on the section
of the ship involved. Upper deck coatings must be durable for walking on, slip-proof
and hard-wearing. For this purpose solvent-free 2-component liquid plastics are
particularly suitable. Deck superstructures such as command bridges, masts, container
brackets, hatches, railings, etc. are given coatings with a quality which is equivalent to
those used on the shell plating, often in different colors.
Coatings in the engine room must have a low level of flammability and conform to the
specifications issued by the Seamen’s Accident Prevention and Insurance Association.
This also applies to the interior finish of passenger ships.
Special coatings based on epoxy resins and combinations of epoxy resins with hard coal
tar are necessary for the oil bunkers of tankers. The same coatings are suitable for oil
ballast water changing tanks. However, for transporting nonreactive hydrocarbons zinc
silicate coatings are also used. Generally speaking, the coatings for tanks transporting
chemicals are particularly critical. For example, they call for careful coordination of
paint formulation, quality assurance test methods, manufacture, surface pretreatment
and monitored application and inspection of the coating. Coatings are generally applied
by the airless process. Poorly accessible surfaces are prepared manually and coated by
brush.
For storage rooms 2-component systems based on epoxy resins with isocyanate crosslinkers
have proved successful.
In technical terms, the coating of yachts and other boats for the leisure sector must be
assessed differently because many boats from this sector have plastic hulls. However,
one still finds wood being used as a material, chiefly in the luxury class. Coating is
conducted with primers for plastics and colored underwater coatings with an “antifouling”
function.