Damen Shiprepair Harbour & Voyage and Verolme Special Equipment plan to provide services together to exhaust gas cleaning systems, widely known as scrubbers. The agreement seeks to improve availability of services for on board scrubber installations, either in port or underway.
The partnership is to create a global service provider of exhaust gas cleaning systems (EGCS), supporting cleaner, emissions-reduced shipping worldwide and available 24/7. Ever more vessels have scrubbers installed as one of the options to comply with the IMO 2020 Sulphur Cap. This also represents a potential increase in maintenance, service, modifications and repairs.
Corrosion issues
‘With any new technology, there is always a learning curve, and this is also with the EGCS,’ says Jozeph W.D. Quak, Managing Director of Damen Shiprepair Harbour & Voyage. ‘There are potential problems due to vibrations in the new added steel structures and related. Additionally, the acidic nature of sulphur can cause corrosion to the discharge piping, overboard pipes and scrubber system itself.’
This, he points out, is already being observed in existing systems, resulting in a significant increase in corroded and cracked pipework. Replacement by glass reinforced epoxy (GRE) pipe systems and installation of SMO (a high-alloy austenitic stainless steel) on crucial locations may be the solution.
Quak adds: ‘Many systems have been installed without proper material considerations and we see that (early) failure of parts and serious corrosion damage is not rare. The partnership between Damen Shiprepair Harbour & Voyage and Verolme Special Equipment provides a complete service for all problems that might occur. We can assist our clients anytime and anywhere, to keep vessels sailing without or with very short down-time in case mentioned problems occur and repairs are necessary.’
The companies will also closely work together with OEMs of EGGS systems.
Picture by Mark König.
