The Nippon Paint Marine NEOGUARD anti-corrosive coating applied to the cargo holds of the 40,000dwt bulker Starnes has been a key factor in ship manager HJH Shipmanagement GmbH being able to extend cargo hold maintenance.

Starnes, delivered from the Chengxi Shipyard in 2020, was delivered with a full range of Nippon Paint Marine protective coating and antifouling systems.

“We have not had the chance to physically inspect the tanks ourselves,” says Olaf Riecken, Business Development Manager, Nippon Paint Marine (Germany), “but HJH is very satisfied that the vessel is not expected to require any remedial coating work to the holds until drydock in mid-2025.”

“The bulker carries crushed stones and other aggregates, so the holds needed special attention to mechanical impact, abrasion and corrosion. The owner’s exacting requirements were met with our NEOGUARD range, which was applied to all cargo holds and unloading tunnels,” furthers Riecken.

The 190m long vessel can self-discharge at a rate of 5,500t/h. The self-unloading system, which features one of the largest booms ever installed on a self-unloader, can handle lump sizes up to 300mm and free flowing materials with a bulk density in the range of 1.2-3.5t/m3.

Paying special attention to the cargo holds, Nippon Paint Marine applied its HI-Epoxy 1494 coating, a zinc-rich epoxy primer, to bulkheads and tanktops, prior to two 200µm coats of NEOGUARD 100 GF. For unloading tunnels, two 125µm coats of NEOGUARD TOUGHNESS were applied before a single 50µm finish coating of E-MARINE Finish M.

While Nippon Paint Marine has applied its coatings to existing tonnage operated by the HJH, Starnes was the first newbuilding project with this owner.

Other vessels applied with the same coating include the self-unloading bulkers Bulknes and Sandnes, with the operator noting that extend coating repairs could not be achieved without a NEOGUARD application.

Commenting on the success of the coating, HJH Shipmanagement’s Newbuilding Manager Michael Jäger says: “It is vitally important to choose the right anticorrosive paint for a newbuilding early on in the project. Based on our previous experience of Nippon Paint Marine systems during repair and maintenance projects we wanted the ultimate cargo hold protection for Starnes. We found that with NEOGUARD, which has exceeded our expectations and helped reduce coating maintenance costs.”

NEOGUARD 100 GF is flexible, surface tolerant multipurpose glass-flake epoxy developed to provide unparalleled corrosion and abrasion protection from seawater, chemicals and mechanical impact. And NEOGUARD TOUGHNESS is a heavy-duty epoxy anticorrosive paint newly developed to exhibit resistance against abrasion and impact to provide long-term protection for cargo spaces.