Knutsen OAS Shipping has chosen AkzoNobel’s patented Intershield 300 and Intersleek foul release technologies for the company’s latest LNGCs being built at HHI.
The first LNGC ‘Adriano Knutsen’ has already been delivered and the next, ‘Rias Baixas Knutsen’ is scheduled to be delivered this month.
“Knutsen have used Intershield 300 on our vessels for a long time,” said Oliver Smith, Project Manager, Knutsen OAS Shipping. “The reason Knutsen applied Intershield 300 on our new LNGCs is because we knew that in the long term, we were able to benefit from the lower maintenance cost. When we have inspected the ballast tanks every five years for our vessels in service having Intershield 300, the number of repairs has been very minimal.”
“We’re delighted that our high-performing marine coatings were selected for Knutsen’s latest LNG vessels and proud that our experience and capability in coatings for LNG continues to be recognised,” said Jean-Michel Gauthier, Director of AkzoNobel’s Marine and Protective Coatings business. “That Intersleek was the industry’s first biocide-free foul release coating when it was released in 1996 shows we have long been the front-runner for this technology and that customers can be confident in the significant track record and qualities of the International product range.
Hyomin Ha, HHI Professional Engineer & Shipbuilding Senior Engineer for the Naval Architect Design Co-ordination Department, Shipbuilding Business Unit, said: “We took on this project as we were confident in applying Intersleek 1100SR for newbuilding projects. Even though it was complex to coat fluoropolymer and silicone-based coatings, we were able to establish internal standard procedures to apply these coatings and minimise disruption.”
