Hydrex
Profile
Hydrex carries out high quality and fast underwater inspection and cleaning operations or any other maintenance work on offshore units. Hydrex also has the know-how and expertise to provide comprehensive on-site underwater repair services. These services include a wide range of repair operations that make use of specially designed cofferdams.
Address
Haven 29 Noorderlaan 9
Antwerp, 2030
Belgium
Phone: +32-3-213-5300
Fax: +32-3-213-5321
Products
Name: Ecospeed
Description: Ecospeed is an environmentally safe underwater coating system which provides the vessel with long-term protection and dramatically improves the ship's performance.
Details:
Ecospeed is an environmentally safe underwater coating system which provides the vessel with long-term protection and dramatically improves the ship's performance. It consists of a unique, entirely original and thoroughly proven system that combines the advantages of an easy-to-apply, superior hard coating, a surface treatment for hydrodynamic optimization and a long term underwater maintenance service system.
Ecospeed is a durable hull coating system which requires only a single application and which is specially designed for underwater maintenance without damaging the protective coating. Ecospeed is a pre-qualified coating system in accordance with NORSOK standard M-501, Rev.5, June 2004.
Press Releases
Sealaunch Odyssey semi-submersible mobile spacecraft launch platform coated with Ecospeed in Malaysia
Last year Ecospeed was applied on the two floaters of the semi-submersible mobile spacecraft launch platform Odyssey in Malaysia. The vessel was converted from a mobile drilling rig in 1997 and is used for equatorial Pacific Ocean satellite launches. She is stationed in the Port of Long Beach, California. In total 8500 m² was coated with Ecospeed to give these parts of the vessel that are permanently underwater a lasting protection against corrosion damage.
A coating that claims to be suitable for offshore structures should satisfy several conditions. This coating has to offer long-term protection from corrosion and bio-fouling. An environmentally safe solution is becoming increasingly essential. In addition, the hull should always keep its optimum condition by on-site maintenance only.
Ecospeed is a durable hull paint which requires only a single application during the normal service life of the vessel, and which is specially designed for underwater maintenance without damaging the protective coating.
Durable protection against corrosion
Ecospeed demonstrates excellent anti-corrosive properties. Diffusion of watery solutions, including very aggressive chloride ions in acidic solutions, has no effect on Ecospeed immersed in seawater. Based on experience with similar coating concepts used in the offshore industry, Ecospeed comes with a guaranteed corrosion protection of ten years. The expectations are that Ecospeed will last 25 years or the typical lifetime of a vessel or offshore structure. Ecospeed is a pre-qualified coating system in accordance with NORSOK standard M-501, Rev.5, June 2004.
Durable protection against biofouling
Ecospeed is distinguished from other coatings by its impenetrability by fouling organisms. Regular underwater cleanings will effectively remove all fouling organisms and improve the surface characteristics.
Environmental benefits
Ecospeed demonstrates remarkable environmental benefits with no negative or damaging effects to its surroundings. Ecospeed is totally free of biocides, and experiments in collaboration with the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment have shown that there is no release of toxins during the curing process and during on-site treatment such as underwater cleaning. In addition, the application of Ecospeed has a very low environmental impact, not only because Ecospeed has a low contents of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) but especially because only one application is required throughout the lifetime of the vessel or structure.
Maintenance benefits
Every existing coating will eventually suffer from marine fouling. Ecospeed has been especially designed for underwater treatment. In-water cleanings of Ecospeed continuously improve the surface characteristics without damaging the protective qualities or affecting the coating thickness. Specially designed tools have been developed for fast, efficient and optimal underwater treatment. Experience has shown that prolonged static exposure on any coating will result in heavy fouling but a single underwater treatment on Ecospeed suffices to remove all fouling effectively and return the surface to its pristine condition.
Underwater inspection of oil terminal in Al-Mu’ajiz, Saudi Arabia
A team of Hydrex diver/technicians performed inspection work on some sixty legs of an oil terminal located in Yanbu, just north of Al-Mu’ajiz in Saudi Arabia.
The facility had been closed since the start of the first Gulf War and is planned to be put back into operation twenty years later after a full refit. For this reason Hydrex was asked to carry out an inspection of the legs of the terminal. The team also performed the necessary measurements to allow for a full assessment of the underwater part of the workstation.
The scope of the work consisted of an inspection of the weld seams, a close visual inspection, thickness measurements, cathodic protection measurements and an inspection of the general condition of the construction. The Hydrex team consisted of CSWIP certified divers who carried out the inspection to a depth of thirty meters to the highest quality and safety standards.
Hydrex again chosen to perform replacement of azimuth thruster on crane barge in Gabon
Hydrex diver/technician team mobilized to an offshore crane barge stationed at its service base in Gabon to replace one of the vessel’s swing-up azimuth thrusters with the spare.
The operation had to be carried out in a very short timeframe because the crane barge was scheduled to leave for an operation in Nigeria. All repairs and other servicing work needed to be carried out before the start of this operation. For this reason going to drydock was not an option as the nearest suitable location was South Africa and this would have taken the repairs far beyond the available timeframe.
Hydrex had carried out a similar operation on this vessel on two occasions. Four years ago when the first azimuth thruster was replaced, a large mobdock (measuring 9 x 6 x 2 meters and weighing over 25 tons by itself) was constructed under Hydrex supervision in Belgium and transported to Gabon. There it was stored after the repair to be used at short notice whenever future repairs were required on thrusters. This allowed for a very fast mobilization and thruster replacement on the next two occasions.
To allow the Hydrex diver/technicians to work on the water sensitive parts of the azimuth thruster the tailor-made mobdock was installed around the retracted thruster and all water was pumped out of it to create a dry environment underwater. The team then disconnected the unit from the engine room and sealed it off. Next they removed the mobdock, lowered the thruster unit onto a special support cradle under the work barge and brought it onboard the barge.
Subsequently Hydrex engineers removed the steering gear from the old thruster unit and installed it on the spare unit that had also been brought onto the barge. This was done under the supervision of a representative of the manufacturer. The old thruster was then brought to shore for transportation to the workshop where it will be overhauled, so that the owners can store it to use as a spare during future operations.
Meanwhile the team installed the new thruster into the crane barge following the reverse procedure. Finally they successfully carried out commissioning and testing. This concluded the replacement well before the start of the barge’s next operation and presented a major saving in time and money for the owner as he did not have to take the offshore unit off hire to go to drydock.
External Link
