AINTAINING OFFSHORE ASSETS, whether FPSO or other floating structures, is not a straightforward matter and does not have a 'one size fits all' approach. The reality is that maintenance begins the day the first paint is applied at new construction. Selection of a paint that is not appropriate for the service environment and asset lifetime is where the first mistakes are made. In this respect International Paint find that the industry trend for FPSOs is to select coatings which are able to help maintain asset integrity for a greater time period, typically 20 years. On board an FPSO, one of the areas of high concern for an owner is the selection of coatings for the water ballast tanks. These tanks play a crucial role in stabilising the FPSO as the crude oil is offloaded. Typically this happens every 10 days. Standard water ballast tank coatings, as used on other marine vessels, are not always applicable for FPSOs. The action of ballasting means highly corrosive sea water is moved around inside the ballast tanks. As a result the steel inside these tanks is very sensitive to corrosion because of the combination of chloride ions, water and air. This is made even worse by the warm and humid air within the tanks. In hot climates this becomes even worse and for this reason owners want to ensure that the coating used in the ballast tank is a premium coating.
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