interview with a painting coating inspector

Q u a r t e r l y J o u r n a l o fSHIP HULL

PERFORMANCE

Is the Writing on the Wall for Copper-based Anti-fouling Paint?

A close look at restrictions and legislation on copper and co-biocide based anti-fouling paints and a comparison with the cyclewhich led to the eventual ban of TBT.

Tributyltin pollution on a global scale. Anoverview of relevant and recent research:impacts and issues.

Excerpts from a report commissioned by the WWF foraction by the IMO prior to the final ban of TBT in 2008.

Advancing Research andKnowledge of Hull Corrosionand Biofouling Control

Dr. Geoffrey Swain and the Team at the Center forCorrosion and Biofouling Control at the FloridaInstitute of Technology.

The importance of ship hull coatings and maintenance as drivers for environmentalsustainability

G.W. Swain, Florida Institute of Technology, USA.

Managing the use ofCopper-Based AntifoulingPaints

Mridula Srinivasan and Geoffrey W. Swain.

An interview with HowardJess, Paint Inspector

The paint inspector's role in ship hull coating success.

October, 2011Vol. 1, Issue 4

for a living planet©

Albert Edelfelt, 'Boys playing on the shore', 1884. Reproduced with permission of the Finnish National Gallery.Albert Edelfelt, 'Boys playing on the shore', 1884. Reproduced with permission of the Finnish National Gallery.

Quarterly Journal October 2011.qxp 25-10-2011 09:16 Pagina 1

Currently working as an independent paint in-spector specializing in the marine sector, Howard

Jess is a NACE Level 2 Marine Paint Inspector and adeveloper of commercially adopted innovative coatingtechnology who has published a number of technicalpapers and spoken at many international events.Howard studied chemistry at the Glasgow College ofTechnology and has over 30 years of experience in thepaint industry. He has overseen many Ecospeedapplications, including the original coating of theBritish Antarctic Survey’s Ernest Shackleton in 2009,the Disney Cruise Line and Stena newbuilds in 2009and 2010, and a number of other applications, smalland large.

Ship Hull Performance (SHP):What does an independent paint inspector do?

Howard Jess (HJ): The main task of a paint inspector is to ensure that the

client receives the best job possible. The client can be the

owner of the asset, the applicator, or even a paint

company. This can result in challenging situations when

the inspector appears at a yard where he is not known and

proceeds to tell people, who may have been doing the job

for many years, that their work is unsatisfactory. If there

are 20 workers who have been abrasive blasting steel all

night it can lead to some “difficult” discussions.

Inspectors are quality assurance, QA, for the client but

more and more I see us as being used as quality control,

QC, by applicators and paint companies. When you’ve

been in the same tank 10 times looking at the same type

of poor preparation or application you know that there

is minimal QC on site. Without a properly qualified

inspector how does the owner know what is happening to

his asset?

SHP:What is the paint inspector's particular value and

contribution?

HJ: Immediately I would say their integrity and knowledge. If

you buckle under pressure you are no good as a paint

inspector. If you have only passed exams and have no

on-site practical experience you would be as well staying

at home. There are qualified inspectors, and well

qualified at that, out there who have rarely been on

site. Desk warriors not site dock warriors. I would like to

see inspectors have a proven track record of on-site

inspections before they progress up the professional

ladder.

SHP:In that case, how can you ever break in? If you need to

have a proven track record of on-site inspections before

you are really qualified to do the job, how can you be

trusted with an on-site inspection?

HJ: As with all jobs you start at the bottom as an assistant to

an already accredited inspector. Assisting the lead

inspector gives you a good insight into what to look for,

what to inspect and more importantly how to handle what

can be difficult, stressful situations. You do not become a

hospital consultant overnight. You cannot become a paint

inspector overnight. That said I’ve worked with some

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An interview with Howard Jess,Paint Inspector


inspectors who are less than 25 years of age. That can be

more of a challenge.

SHP:When it comes to underwater hull coatings, rudder coat-

ings, etc. do all paint companies insist that a paint

inspector be present for the job? If not, which ones do and

which don't? What are your feelings about it?

HJ: Most paint companies will supply some form of

inspection on site. Not all are there when application

takes place. I’m not going to mention who but I feel that

some companies short change their clients. I’m sure that

clients/end-users would like some companies to do more.

Then again, perhaps some companies do not have the

technical assets to assist in every job. Nor commercially

do they wish to go into a yard which is buying their paint

and tell them that their work is not satisfactory.

SHP:How do you make sure you remain “independent” and

work for the client rather than for the paint company?

HJ: The client is who ever pays my invoice. That said a good

inspector will work with all parties to ensure that a good

job is accomplished.

SHP:Tell me about preparation for painting. What do you

consider to be the best practice for underwater hull

preparation for paint? Can you explain?

HJ: I’m a Sa 2.5 type of guy. Do not compromise on

preparation as failure to prepare correctly will cause

premature service life of a coating system. I’ve been

involved in the coatings business for over 30 years and

have seen many “wonder” coatings come and go. “We

have a wonderful/novel/new/blahblah coating which is

surface tolerant.” We’ve heard it all before and how many

last in volume production for more than a few years?

Whereas the older tried and tested products and

preparation menthods supply good service for many

years.

There was a trend towards less aggressive preparation

or easier preparation. It can be very tempting to cut

corners by using certain techniques but Sa 2.5 in general

is the one for me. Techniques which do not re-establish or

produce a good anchor profile are of limited value in my

eyes. That said, sometimes due to environmental

constraints or because of the presence of fragile equip-

ment nearby, techniques other than abrasive blasting have

to be used.

SHP:Can you compare the various types of coatings available

for the underwater hull from the paint inspector's

viewpoint? (AF/SPC. FR, STC, any others). This would

be from the point of view of quality of erosion/corrosion

protection, usefulness for fouling control and fuel cost

reduction and any other factors but not necessarily cost.

HJ: As an inspector one area which can cause concern is the

ease of repair. In the present economic climate where

owners can change routings, use slow steaming or even

lay up their ships, the choice of underwater hull coatings

can be daunting and if wrong choices are made the results

can be costly. Personally, I would go for a product with

minimal number of coats, a good history, ease of

application and excellent foul prevention in a range of

climates. Note I don’t use the term “anti-fouling” as this

suggests to me some form of chemical attack against

marine organisms. More and more countries will insist on

“toxic-free” hull coatings before ships enter their waters.

I’m of course thinking of the West Coast of USA and the

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Great Lakes. I’m sure that the Baltic countries will be

looking at this too.

SHP:Can you compare costs in terms of total cost of ownership

for these various coating types?

HJ: This is a complete topic of its own. Less fouling equals

better fuel consumption and shorter dockings. Shorter

dockings equal less off-hire costs. An interesting question

but I doubt if anyone would have enough data to make a

definitive statement. But it is obvious that less fouling is

beneficial commercially.

Taking the technicalities out of the equation, in my

view the greatest advantage in using a glassflake coating

is cost. Two applications means only 2x painters’ costs.

When using other “conventional” systems we could be

talking about painters’ costs x 7. Do the maths! Add to

that reduced repair work meaning less time in drydock,

less time off-hire and increased fuel efficiency and the

product should just about sell itself.

SHP:Do you have a viewpoint on the toxicity of underwater

hull coatings, how important it is, whether leaching

biocides into the water is acceptable or not? If so, could

you expound?

HJ: There is a swing away from “toxic” hull coatings and has

been for some time now. As more countries embrace the

various types of aquaculture to increase protein pro-

duction I’m sure that most if not all leaching coatings, no

matter what they leach, will eventually be banned.

SHP:Is there a difference in ease of application between the

various coatings?

HJ: I’m sure that one of the big issues for inspectors is the

huge variance between the quality of applicators world-

wide. Not just in different regions but even in the same

yard. In fact I’ve seen excellent painter work on the port

side of a vessel and a disaster on the starboard side. I

guess that’s why inspectors have so much work. With the

odd exception most coatings are very similar to apply.

SHP:What's best for icegoing vessels or icebreakers?

HJ: Without a doubt, glassflake coatings.

SHP:Have you noticed a difference between coatings when it

comes to protection from cavitation damage?

HJ: I have only seen good results with glassflake products.

SHP: Anything else you would like to say about hull coatings in

general or any aspect of the subject in particular?

HJ: Only now are asset owners or management companies

seeing the value of hull coatings. It’s taken a long time.

Just recently I heard a yard’s ship manager say, “Are we

putting some of the red stuff on today?”! A well applied,

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well formulated hull coating will pay for itself over a very

short period of time. But for some companies it’s “out of

sight, out of mind.” Just stand on the shore near Europort,

Rotterdam for a short period of time and look at the

condition of some of the hulls when the ships leave under

ballast. Some are in a truly dreadful state.

IMO has, regrettably, had to tell shipowners how to

paint their ballast tanks. I say regrettably simply because

a worldwide industry such as shipping should not have

allowed itself to get into such a position that an outside

body had to tell it how to protect its assets. If the industry

does not learn from that episode I’m sure that the same

situation could arise with hull coatings.

SHP:Now that you mention the IMO, that brings up another

point. What is your take on the recent MPEC/IMO ruling

on hull coatings and invasive (“alien”) species? I’m sure

you’re familiar with it.

HJ: Yes, and this could have a major impact on shipowners.

Currently the ruling is not mandatory but it would be

worthwhile for all who could be affected by this to

become familiar with the ruling. Even at the simplest

level, if ratified, owners may have to keep records of a

bio-fouling management plan. Given that some vessels

will change their routings over the years and I see now

that many companies are announcing the introduction of

slow steaming or even super slow steaming, the choice of

underwater hull coating becomes more critical. Some

work at certain speeds and environmental conditions

which may change if the vessel’s trading pattern changes

from, say, temperate to tropical water or their speed

through the water changes. This will likely have some

effect on the efficacy of the underwater hull coating.

Perhaps owners should consider this when selecting

coatings particularly now for new-builds.

Ballast water treatment was and is a hot topic and I

would not be surprised if underwater hull coatings

becomes the next hot topic. How many million square

metres of underwater hull are coated each year?

_________

Howard Jess can be reached at [email protected].

His website is www.howardjess.co.uk.

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interview with a painting coating inspector

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