Ice and coatings next

Class societies must become much more involved with coatings within the next 10 years because of their impact on corrosion protection and fatigue according to Wilhelm Magelssen, vice president of DNV Maritime and head of the Norwegian classification society’s technical support projects group. He reckons that rules will probably develop to cover both the constitution of coatings and their application by shipyards. The situation will be complicated by the proximity of many shipyards to large urban centres, he says, where different local rules will apply to coatings.

He also believes that recent winter rates of $100,000 per day plus for oil cargoes from Primorsk, combined to a general growth in Russian oil exports, will encourage many owners to adopt ice class standards in their newbuildings. While ice-class addresses hull strength it takes little account of the impact of icing from green seas and spray – and consequently broader rules are required for the safety of operation in cold climates.