A modern chemical tanker has all her cargo tanks coated unless they are made of stainless steel.

The main reasons for coating are: easier cleaning and less risk for cargo contamination. The durability of properly applied and maintained coatings may be ten years or more. On the other hand one mistake in cargo selection may totally ruin a coating. It is a matter of knowing the limitations and possibilities of each type,or even of each make, of coating. Here the chemical build up of coatings shall not be elaborated, only the physical properties as regards resistance and application. Every paint manufacturer has his own resistance list stating approved cargoes, temperature and time limitations etc. Contact the maker if in the slightest doubt; mistakes may turn out to be very costly. Many coating manufacturers give some sort of guarantee for the first two years after application. Epoxy coatings generally possess a good resistance against alkalies, seawater, wine, vegetable oils, crude oils, gas oils, lub oils, jet fuels, gasoline and also weak acids (as in free fatty acids in vegetable oils, but acid value should not exceed 20-40). Epoxy ha s limited resistance against aromatic hydrocarbons (solvents such as benzene, toluene), certain alcohols (e g methanol), ketones (acetone) and some esters. Epoxy is sometimes indicated as resistant also to stronger acids. This may be correct, but as an applied coating one must count on holidays in the film, thus making epoxy unsuitable for really corrosive liquids. Epoxy coatings which have been stressed beyond their chemical resistance with strong solvents tend to soften; test with your nails. In such a case the coating must be given ample time to weather out trapped solvents and recover its hardness before being subjected to cargo or water again. Do not try to speed up the recovery by application of heat! The top skin of the coating may then first harden, leaving trapped solvent underneath, with flaking as a consequence. Ventilate with a good turbulence in all corners of the tank. Hardness of epoxy coatings can be established by means of a standardized test using pencils of different hardness as a reference (Sw standard SIS 184 187). Adhesion of a coating to the steel is also reduced if it is overstressed by a cargo of strong solvents. There are standard test methods for the determination of adhesion by means of glued-on tablets, which are then pulled off with a recording of the necessary force. Epoxy coatings should normally not be heated above 60 -(80) degr.C during tank washing, steaming etc, During the loaded voyage lower temperatures should be kept. Epoxy tar coatings. are made up from epoxy with an addition of coal tar. They are excellent against seawater and crude oils but should never be used in chemical tankers, Light hydrocarbons of moderate solubility such as jet fuels, gas oils, gasoline may cause the tar to leak out, which may contaminate the cargo. Zinc silicate coatings particularly those of inorganic type, are very resistant against strong solvents and normally tolerate higher temperatures than epoxies. Typical products are: aromatic hydrocarbons (benzene, xylene etc), alcohols, ketones. Jet fuels may suffer zinc pick up from the coating to an extent which is considered a conta-mination. Therefore: check with shippers requirements. Zinc silicates are not resistant against acids or alkalies. The pH value of the cargo should be within the range 5, 5 -10, 5 (neutral pH 7, 0). This means that some molasses (slightly fermented low pH) may attack zinc silicates, as well as high contents of free fatty acids in vegetable or animal oils: Zinc silicate coatings may under such circumstances cause zinc pick up into the cargo. They are therefore not normally suitable for edible oils for human or animal consumption. Remember that the contents of free fatty acids, and thus also the aggressivity and zinc pick up, may increase during transport. Certain coatings

have Governmental approval for edible oils, check for pH-limitations in such cases. Zinc silicates are not suitable for long time exposure to seawater, the life span will be unduly reduced. After carriage of molasses in zinc silicate coated tanks a thorough cleaning should be carried out as soon as possible. Sour cargo remains on the tank bottom may damage the coating. Zinc silicates are only partly resistant to chlorinated compounds (e g carbon tetrachloride, ethylene dichloride, trichlorethylene). If the water content is high hydrochloric acid may develop, which will attack the coating. In a similar way hydrolyzable hydrocarbons such as esters, acetates and halogenated compounds may .attack the cargo. If, however, the product is guaranteed dry and the cargo tanks and piping are completely drained and dried these products can be carried. Alkaline tank cleaning agents (caustic) should never be used in zinc silicate coated tanks. Considerable damage can be done~in one single cleaning operation. Zinc silicates stand well up against other cleaning agents such as solvent cleaners and emulsifiers unless they have alkaline additives: Check first with the maker of the cleaning product! If a zinc silicate coating has been attacked one can often observe a thin layer of white dust on the surface, or the coating gives a porous appearance. Inform the Owners at once; it may be that the last cargo was off specification and caused the damage. Phenolic resins are a recent addition to the family of tank coatings. They have a wide resistance list including strong solvents which the epoxies do not tolerate- At the same time the phenolics accept about all of the products that zinc silicates tolerate. This type of coating is likely to gain further application on board. Polyester coatings have poor resistance to solvents but are fairly resistant to weak acids and alkalies. They are not used on board in chemical tankers to any extent. Maintenance of tank coatings means, above all, not to subject the coatings to non-permissible cargoes. Check with makers recommendations. Limitations as regard pH-values, max temperatures and max permissible storage time on board must be followed. Let epoxies regain their hardness if softened. Generally it is not worth while to recoat an epoxy coated tank on top of an old coating, the risk for a poor bond is too great. Minor damaged areas can, with a certain degree of success be recoated. The area must first be degreased well. The area should then be ground to a bright steel finish with a rotating grinder, grain 80 to 120, with an even transition to the coating. 1 2 coats of primer plus 3 4 finishing coats may be necessary in order to build up the proper film thickness (200-300 microns). The tank wall may have to be warmed up (preferably from behind) in order to insure that there is no risk for condensation on the surface. If possible the, tank wall should be warmer than the tank atmosphere. For application of coating on a whole tank the steel bulkheads must be properly sandblasted (non marine origin sand), normally to the internationally known standard Sa 2 1/?. Rubber lining In recent years a number of ships have been fitted with rubber lined tanks, for the transport of phosphoric acid, waste acids and hydrochloric acid. The mild steel surfaces to be lined should be prepared by grinding away rough weld beads, surface defects, weld splatter etc. Then comes sandblasting to bright metal (Sa 2 1/2 3), priming with a rubber glue and an applica-tion of a contact rubber glue. Thereafter the uncured rubber is applied in wide sheets and pressed on by means of hand rollers. The rubber is usually 4-6 mm thick with reinforcements where mechanical wear may occur, such as hatches etc. The rubber is vulcanized by

heating with steam or hot water for a period of 15-30 hours. Synthetic rubbers may have a curing accelerator added and will vulcanize at normal ambient temperature (20-30 degr. C) in a few weeks. Natural rubber has been used in ships for phosphoric acid. But chloroprene (neoprene) synthetic rubber is a more usual choice on board. It has a much better resistance to sun radiation, oils and ozon, Chloroprene is, however, more expensive and is somewhat more difficult to apply. Chloroprene is resistant to strong acids (not sulphuric acid) and strong alkalies such as caustic soda. In some cases chloroprene lined tanks have been used for backhauls with fuel oils. This rubber will, however, not tolerate light hydrocarbons. Butyl rubber has a very good chemical resistance but is stiff and hard to apply. Great caution must be exercised so that the rubber will not be subjected to mechanical damage due to falling objects, tools etc, Rubber lined tanks should have a minimum of fittings such as brackets, ladders, internal piping etc which can create weak spots. Steel piping, including bends, can be rubber lined. The pipe diametres should be chosen somewhat liberally in order to keep liquid velocities relatively low. Membrane types of valves as well as pumps can be lined with hard rubber. As heavy wear may occur on these parts the use of stainless steel is, however, recommended. The advantage of having a pure rubber lined system with regard to a possible high contents of chlorides in the product will then, however, be lost, see 4.02. Rubber linings are tested for pores and defects by means of a high voltage tester at 10 000 V (chloroprene) and 20 000 V (natural rubber). To check the progress of curing or aging a Shore Durometer is used. Shore tanks are sometimes lined with PVC (poly vinyl chloride) sheets glued into place. But this technique does not seem to be sufficiently developed for use on board ships.