ABS TECHNICAL PAPERS 2003

nd

22

Proceedings of OMAE 2003

International Conference on Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering
8-13 JUNE 2003, CANCUN, MEXICO

OMAE2003-37361
ESTIMATION OF CORROSION RATES OF STRUCTURAL
MEMBERS IN OIL TANKERS
1
Ge Wang , John Spencer, Tarek Elsayed

American Bureau of Shipping

16855 Northchase Drive, Houston, TX, USA, 77060
1
email : gwang@eagle.org

ABSTRACT
An accurate estimation of corrosion rates plays an
important role in determining corrosion allowances for
structural designs, planning for inspections, and
scheduling for maintenance.
This paper presents an estimation of corrosion rates
of structural members in oil tankers based on a corrosion
wastage database of over 110,000 thickness
measurements from 140 single hull oil tankers. Corrosion
rates may be described by a Weibull distribution function.
Mean, standard deviation and maximum values of
corrosion rates for structural members are obtained based
on the entire population of the database. They are
compared with the ranges of corrosion rate published by
Tanker Structure Co-operative Forum (TSCF).
The study aims to update knowledge on corrosion
rates in steel ships, and to contribute to the efforts of
mitigating the risks of corrosion.
INTRODUCTION
Corrosion is a major cause of marine structural
failures. Corrosion results in loss of structural strength at
local and global levels, and leads to fatigue failure and
stress corrosion cracking. Some recent marine incidents
with tankers have been directly linked to accelerated
corrosion.
The annual corrosion related costs to the U.S. marine
shipping industry is estimated at $2.7 billion. This cost is
divided into costs associated with new construction
($1.12 billion), with maintenance and repairs ($810
million), and with corrosion-related downtime ($785
million) (Johnson 2001).
Classification Societies have established safety
standards requiring that structural scantlings of marine

structures be designed with allowances for corrosion

wastage. These initial design allowances are based
on corrosion wastage expected during the service of
ships under normal operation and maintenance
practices.
Steel is often coated with paint, and sacrificial
anodes are fitted at some locations. These serve to reduce
and in some instances effectively defer corrosion and
mitigate corrosion consequences.
Ships in service are periodically surveyed and
inspected. If corrosion is found, wasted plates are
recommended to be renewed. Decisions regarding the
extent of renewal require the knowledge of how much
more the steel will corrode before the next inspection.
Surveyors also inspect the condition of coating (ABS
1998). Substantial corrosion is noted and more frequent
inspections may be required to ensure that substantial
corrosion will not threaten the structural integrity of the
ship. If coating breakdown is found to be in poor
condition, annual surveys are required.
Accurate estimation of corrosion rates is therefore
required for initial structural design, inspection planning
and maintenance scheduling. This information is very
important for planning the economic life of a ship.
There are limited research and corrosion
measurement data available for corrosion rates in tankers.
Discussions on corrosion wastage remain largely
qualitative rather than quantitative.
This paper estimates the corrosion rates of structural
members in oil tankers using a probabilistic model and a
corrosion wastage database (Wang et al. 2003). Mean and
maximum corrosion rates are presented. These values are
compared with TSCF (1992) recommendations, and
general trends are discussed.

Estimation of Corrosion Rates of Structural Members in Oil Tankers

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ABS TECHNICAL PAPERS 2003

Figure 1. Corroded bulkhead in an oil tanker

This paper aims to update the knowledge on corrosion

rates in oil tankers, and to contribute to the efforts of
mitigating the risks of corrosion.
CORROSION IN OIL TANKERS
Figure 1 shows the corroded bulkhead in an oil
tanker. Corrosion of steel plates is a complex
phenomenon that is influenced by many factors. Various
corrosion mechanisms exist in any particular location.
For example, the under-deck area is subjected to sweet or
CO2 corrosion, and sour H2S or sulfur corrosion.
Steel may be uniformly wasted (general corrosion),
or may be corroded in localized areas (pitting or
grooving). The attention of this paper is placed on
general corrosion, where steel plates are uniformly
wasted. Pitting corrosion is often not fully reflected in
thickness measurement reports, and is not discussed in
this paper.
Factors that influence corrosion may include
(Melchers 2001, Paik et al. 1998):
Coating type and longevity
Coating application and surface preparation
Corrosivity of the product
Inspection and maintenance strategies
Cathodic protection
Trade route
This is only a partial list. Many factors interact with
others, complicating the problem further.
There is an ongoing interest in developing models
for predicting corrosion wastage (Gardiner and Melchers
2001). Phenomenal models have the advantage in

162

quantitatively
estimating
definable
corrosion
mechanisms, but are often confined to limited groups of
cases. Their effectiveness is still not fully demonstrated.
There is a high variability in corrosion wastage (e.g.,
TSCF 1992, Loseth et al. 1994, Melchers 2001, Wang et
al. 2003, Paik et al. 2003). Statistical analysis on a
collection of corrosion measurements seems to be one of
the best options to express corrosion rates in oil tankers.
EXISTING MODELS FOR CORROSION
WASTAGE IN STEEL SHIPS
Figure 2 shows schematically the available models
for corrosion progress published to date. These models
are used for assessing structural conditions. They do not
address the mechanics of corrosion.
Typically, it is assumed that corrosion does not take
place when a coated structure is first placed in service.
Usually, this is the period before the coating breaks down
and loses effectiveness in protecting the steel. After that,
corrosion begins, and wastage increases over time.
For the second stage of corrosion, there are three
types of models for corrosion progress:
Corrosion wastage linearly increases with time
(line a). This is perhaps the most common and
most widely used assumption in structural
strength analyses.
Corrosion increases and accelerates over time
(line b). This occurs when rust build-up is
disturbed if a structure flexes under the wave
action (TSCF 1992, Saidarasamoot et al. 2003).

Estimation of Corrosion Rates of Structural Members in Oil Tankers

ABS TECHNICAL PAPERS 2003

These models have advantages and disadvantages.

They may be good for some, but not all situations.
Corrosion rate is the slope of the lines in Fig. 2.
Obviously, the corrosion rate in existing models can be:
Constant, or
Not constant, changing over time (lines b and c).

Melchers (2001) treated the mean values and

standard deviations as separate parameters, and tested
linear, bi-linear and power models for each of them.
Yamamoto and Ikeyama (1998) described a corrosion
mechanism based on pitting initiation and growth.
Different probability functions were assumed for the three
stages: deterioration of coating, pitting initiation, and
pitting growth. Their models were calibrated with
measurement data of bulk carriers, and later applied to
oil tankers (Harada et al. 2001)
Paik et al. (1998, 2003) assumed no corrosion for
about 5 to 10 years, and a constant corrosion rate for the
remaining life of the steel. They assumed that the coating
life follows a normal distribution and the corrosion rate
follows a Weibull distribution. Parameters of these
models are derived from data on corrosion measurements.
Guedes Soares and Garbatov (1999) used a 3-stage
corrosion model. The corrosion rate starts at zero when
the coating is effective, increases when the steel loses
protection from the coating, and becomes zero again
when rust covers the steel. This model is flexible and can
adapt to many situations once the long-term corrosion
wastage and the duration of the corrosion process is
known.
There are also studies on the influences of different
corrosion models on the time variant reliability of both
local structural members and hull girders (Ivanov et al.
2003).

b
corrosion

no corrosion

uncertainties. A probabilistic presentation may be

preferable. A constant-rate corrosion progress model is
used in this study (line a in Fig. 2). A complex corrosion
model is avoided. The additional complexity introduced
by more refined mathematical models has yet to prove the
value of such an approach in improved prediction
accuracy. Detailed modeling of the changes in structural
thickness over time is left to further development.
For simplicity, it is assumed that there is no
corrosion during the first five years of service. This
coating effective period should also be treated using a
probabilistic model, as this is known to vary depending
on different situations. This topic is not pursued in this
paper, and will be investigated in the future.

wastage

The rate of corrosion wastage slows down with

time (line c), when the steel is gradually covered
by scale
and rust, preventing further exposure of new
steel to corrosive environment.
As a variation of line c, corrosion wastage
eventually approaches a plateau, which remains
constant.

age

Figure 2. Existing models for corrosion progress

Deck plates in cargo tanks

(4665 measurements)

30%

20%
Frequency

10%

The high variability observed in corrosion wastage of

structural members requires proper consideration of the

0.600

0.525

0.450

0.375

0.300

0.225

0.150

Probabilistic representations
Corrosion rate models
Corrosion wastage databases

0.075

0%

ESTIMATION OF CORROSION RATES

There are three major components in the analysis of
corrosion rates of structural members:

C orrosi on rate s (mm/ye ar)

Figure 3. Frequency distribution of corrosion rate for

deck plates in cargo tanks (based on 4665 measurements)

Estimation of Corrosion Rates of Structural Members in Oil Tankers

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ABS TECHNICAL PAPERS 2003

Table 1 Estimated mean, standard deviation and maximum values of corrosion rate for various structural members in
oil tankers and comparison with the range of general corrosion by TSCF (1992) (unit: mm/year)
Structure

Tank

Mean

Deviation

Maximum

TSCF (1992)

Dk pl

Cargo

0.066

0.069

0.580

0.03 0.10

Ballast

0.055

0.042

0.277

0.10 0.50

Cargo

0.055

0.055

0.807

0.03 0.10

Ballast

0.047

0.051

0.444

0.25 1.00

Cargo

0.037

0.030

0.243

Ballast

0.044

0.041

0.175

Cargo

0.044

0.046

0.547

0.03

Ballast

0.043

0.038

0.573

0.06 0.10

Cargo

0.040

0.034

0.567

0.03

Ballast

0.042

0.042

0.800

0.10 0.25

Cargo

0.033

0.021

0.171

Ballast

0.032

0.030

0.482

Cargo

0.085

0.076

0.690

0.04 0.30

Ballast

0.049

0.051

0.320

0.04 0.10

Cargo

0.032

0.022

0.207

0.03

Ballast

0.027

0.020

0.117

Cargo

0.047

0.062

0.730

Ballast

0.045

0.066

0.700

Btw cargo

0.049

0.059

0.654

0.03

Others

0.051

0.046

0.470

0.10 0.30

Cargo

0.038

0.031

0.411

0.03

Ballast

0.20 1.20

Cargo

0.045

0.044

0.782

Ballast

0.20 0.60

Dk long web
Dk long fl
Side shell
Side long web
Side long fl
Btm shell
Btm long web
Btm long fl
Long bhd pl
Bhd long web
Bhd long fl

Abbreviations: btw between, bhd bulkhead, dk deck, fl flange, long longitudinal, pl plate

The latest corrosion wastage database (Wang et al.

2003) provides a wealth of corrosion wastage data
representing corrosion in single hull oil tankers. It is
another contribution to the knowledge of corrosion in oil
tankers since the Tanker Structure Co-operative Forum
published their collective studies on corrosion in 1992
(TSCF 1992). Main details of this database are shown in
Appendix A. The database is used here to derive
corrosion rates.
Figure 3 is the density histogram of corrosion rates
of deck plates in cargo tanks. This is based on 4665
thickness measurements from 140 single hull tankers.
The tankers were 168 to 401 meters in length, and were

164

12 to 32 years old when the measurements were taken.

See also Fig. 4 of Wang et al. (2003) and Appendix A.
From Fig. 3, it seems that for the population in the
database, the corrosion rate of deck plates in cargo tanks
can be described using a Weibull distribution. Two
parameters are needed to define a Weibull distribution
function. These are scale and shape parameters, and can
be derived via curve-fitting techniques.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
Table 1 summarizes the estimated mean, standard
deviation and maximum value of corrosion rates for

Estimation of Corrosion Rates of Structural Members in Oil Tankers

ABS TECHNICAL PAPERS 2003

various structural members in single hull oil tankers. The
calculations are based on all measurements of the
database. No consideration is given to age and size of
ships.
Some observations are listed here:

Corrosion rates scatter in wide ranges. The

standard deviations are comparable to, or even
higher than the averages.
The maximum corrosion rate is much higher
than the average.
The average corrosion rates do not seem to
depend on usage spaces (cargo or ballast tank).

The above conclusions are based on the analyses on

the entire population of the corrosion wastage database.
Note that these conclusions are very similar to those
observed on corrosion wastage presented by Wang et al.
(2003).
These conclusions from Table 1 may be generalized
to the tanker fleet in the world, and can be used as
reference when planning maintenance and inspection for
a group of ships. Cares should be taken, however, when
attempting to apply Table 1 to a specific ship, where the
cargoes it carries are normally known, and the
maintenance is well controlled.
Analysis using more refined models that take into
account influential parameters will be reported in future
papers.
Table 1 also contains the range of corrosion rate
published by TSCF (1992). These data are based on the
in-service corrosion rate survey questionnaire distributed
to all members of TSCF. The collected data represents the
empirical information of owners and classification
societies for the three decades prior to 1992.
The TSCF (1992) corrosion rate ranges are
considered to be conservative reflecting a high standard
of maintenance carried out by the owner members.
Because of the representation of the members in this
Forum, the TSCF (1992) publication has been widely
used in the shipping industry, and is generally regarded
as a reliable source regarding corrosion in tankers. Some
later developments of inspection and maintenance
schemes are based on the recommendations in this
literature.
The corrosion rates of TSCF (1992) on cargo oil
tanks and segregated ballast tanks are listed in Table 2,
along with those estimated in this paper on cargo tanks
and ballast tanks, respectively.
Direct comparisons between Table 1 and TSCF
(1992) are very difficult, because TSCF does not fully
document how its members determined the corrosion
rates. Still, some interesting conclusions may be drawn
from Table 1:

In general, the estimated mean corrosion rates

are higher or close to the high end of the ranges
of TSCF (1992). This may be due to the fact that
the sampled ships of TSCF were better
maintained.
The estimated maximum corrosion rates are
much higher than TSCF. The TSCF ranges
might not capture extreme cases.
Both show that corrosion rates scatter. The
TSCF range of corrosion rate is wide; and the
estimated standard deviation of corrosion rate is
large and comparable to the estimated mean
values.
Instead of a range, TSCF gives a single value for
some structural members, e.g., side shell plates
in cargo tanks. The present estimation may be
used to develop ranges of corrosion rates that
supplement the studies by TSCF (1992).

The database does not include scraped ships (Wang

et al. 2003). The estimated corrosion rates may not reflect
the worst cases.
As the analysis is based on averaging corrosion
wastage over time, corrosion rates higher than the
estimations in Table 2 should be expected.
CONCLUSIONS
The corrosion rates of some structural members in
single hull oil tankers are estimated. The analyses are
based on a recent corrosion wastage database that
contains over 110,000 thickness measurement results.
Corrosion rates may be described by a Weibull
distribution function. Mean, standard deviation and
maximum values for corrosion rates are obtained for
structural members based on the entire population of the
database.
Comparisons of the estimated corrosion rates with
TSCF (1992) ranges are attempted. The estimations of
mean corrosion rates are generally higher than, or close
to the high end of the TSCF ranges.
The estimated corrosion rates may be used for
establishing corrosion allowances for structural designs,
planning for inspections, and scheduling for maintenance
(Wang et al. 2003).
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors wish to thank many colleagues for their
valuable comments and reviews, especially those from J.
Card, D. Diettrich, L. Ivanov, J. Baxter, J. Phipps, and K.
Tamura. The authors are indebted to Jo Feuerb acher for
editing the manuscript.

Estimation of Corrosion Rates of Structural Members in Oil Tankers

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REFERENCES
ABS, 1998, Guidance notes on the application and
maintenance of marine coating systems, American
Bureau of Shipping.
ABS, 2001, Final report of Investigation into the
damage sustained by the M.V. Castor on 30 December
2000, www.eagle.org, American Bureau of Shipping.
Guedes Soares C., Garbatov Y. 1999, Reliability of
corrosion protected and maintained ship hulls subjected
to corrosion and fatigue, Journal of Ship Research,
43(2), 65-78.
Harada S., Yamamoto No., Magaino A., Sone H.,
2001, Corrosion analysis and determination of corrosion
margin, Part 1&2, IACS discussion paper.
Ivanov, L. Spencer, J., Wang, G., 2003, Probabilistic
evaluation of hull structure renewals for aging ships,
The Eighth International Marine Design Conference
(IMDC), 5-8 May 2003, Athens, Greece.
Johnson J., 2001, Cost of Corrosion in Ships,
Report, CC Technologies Laboratories, Inc., Dublin,
Ohio.
Loseth, R., Sekkeseter, G. and Valsgard, S., (1994)
Economics of High Tensile Steel in Ship Hulls, Marine
Structures, 7, 31-50.
Melchers R.E., 2001, Probabilistic models of
corrosion for reliability assessment an maintenance
planning, 20th International Conference on Offshore
Mechanics and Arctic Engineering, Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil, June 3-8, 2001.
Paik J.K., Kim S.K., Lee S.K., 1998, Probabilistic
corrosion rate estimation model for longitudinal strength
members of bulk carriers, Journal of Ocean
Engineering, 10, 837-860.
Paik J.K., Wang G., Thayamballi A.K., Lee JM.,
2003, Time-variant risk assessment of aging ships
accounting for general / pit corrosion, fatigue cracking
and local dent damage, SNAME annual meeting, San
Francisco, CA.
Saidarasamoot S., Olson D., Mishra B., Spencer J.,
Wang G., 2003, Assessment of the emerging
technologies for the detection and measurement of
corrosion wastage of coated marine structures, 22nd
International Conference on Offshore Mechanics and
Arctic Engineering, 8-13 June 2003, Cancun, Mexico.
TSCF (Tanker Structure Co-operative Forum), 1992,
Condition evaluation and maintenance of tanker
structures, Witherby & Co. Ltd, London. 1992.
Wang G., Spencer J., Sun H.H., 2003 Assessment of
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166

APPENDIX A. A CORROSION WASTAGE

DATABASE
The main details of the wastage database of Wang et
al. (2003) is described in Table A.1.
Table A.1. Main details of the corrosion wastage database
The present database
Ship type

Single hull oil tankers

Data sources

SafeHull Condition Assessment

Vessels

140

Gauging reports

157

Thick. measurements

110,082

Info. Hull strength

599 sections

Ship size

168 ~ 401 meters

Service years

12 ~ 26, 32 years

Class

ABS, LR, NK, DnV, KR

Ship built

Mostly 1970s, some 1980s

Ship measured

1992 2000

Estimation of Corrosion Rates of Structural Members in Oil Tankers