Coatings come up to scratch

摘要

Although it is ballast water treatment systems that have received most attention, new rules are beginning to apply to another area of ballast handling, which also deserves attention Ballast tanks - or, to be more precise, deterioration in their condition - have long been a cause for concern. The inside of a ballast tank is a harsh environment where gritty sediments can rapidly destroy any coatings, allowing corrosion to take hold. Badly corroded ballast tanks will inevitably leak, leading to vessel stability problems and in worst cases to structural failure.