Marine

Pictures of the application of Zinga on immersed piles at Bangor harbour. The piles were first UHP water-blasted and then grit-blasted to give the correct surface profile. Then 200 µm of ZINGA was applied in 4 coats with a brush. The work was executed by the contracting company SAR Marine and General in November 2000.

Pictures showing the application of Zinga by roller to the blasted hull of a typical fishing vessel.

De Graeve n.v. is one of the last well-known shipyards in Belgium. It is situated in the port of Zeebrugge. They had their first experience with Zinga in 1980 and they are still using Zinga for newly constructed vessels as well as for repairing and maintenance of all the boats. These vessels are operated in the North Sea and Atlantic Ocean.

Testimonial letter from shipyard De Graeve n.v. dated 04/09/89, stating their satisfaction with Zinga and including a brief application description.

The fishing pier in Killybegs which supports the factory buildings is held up by 309 mild-steel hexagonal shaped legs, all approx. 600 mm in diameter. They have been in the sea for 25 years and due to the salt and the sulphate reducing bacteria (SRB) present in the sea water, they were losing up to 2 mm per year off their thickness. The waters around Killybegs are unique because they have the highest rate of corrosion in Europe.
The height from the concrete deck to the water level at low tide is approx. 3-4 meter. At high tide, 1.5- 2 meters of each pile is totally submersed in seawater.

The piles were prepared by UHP water-jetting and grit blasting to SA 2.5 with Rz 40 to 60 µm. The application happened under the intense surveillance of SGS AxaMed. It was a very difficult and delicate application as they had to take into account the tidal movement and the constant contact with the sea water. Because the conditions were so extreme, SGS AxaMed demanded a very high dry film thickness of Zinga. The average dry film thickness was 300 µm.

The application of Zinga on the pier legs at Killybegs Harbour was done in the summer of 2000. The customer, the Irish Department of Marine and Natural Resources, and the contractor, SAR Marine & General, wanted to wait until a full year had passed before giving any official comment on the performance of the Zinga coating.

The final inspection report (including pictures) dated 15/06/01, issued by SAR Marine & General for the Department of the Marine and Natural Resources, describes the excellent condition of the piles 12 months after the application.

Pictures of the pier legs taken in August 2001 – one year after the application. Zinga is holding up perfectly with no rust showing. Any marking on the legs is either seaweed or harbour contaminants.
CLICK HERE to download a PDF document of the Final Inspection of Killbegs

The sailing ship Mercator was originally used as a training ship for the officers of the Belgian navy. She is about 45 m long and carries 3 masts. The Mercator is now a museum. Once or twice a year she sails in to the North Sea between Zeebrugge and Antwerp. She was originally treated with Zinga in 1986. The ship is located in the docks with other sailing ships all year long. We do not need to explain that the pH and aggressive nature of this kind of water is very high.

In March 2001 she was docked for inspection. No corrosion was found anywhere on her all-steel hull. The rivets were still in excellent condition, and there was no ‘rust sweating’ between any of the plates in the stern area. This was her third inspection during the eleven years. No further Zinga was required and she was refloated shortly after. Needless to say the association that owns the ship is still very satisfied with Zinga.

This field trial was conducted by the Department of Maritime Equipment in France. Two sea buoys were left floating in the Atlantic ocean for four years. One of the mild steel buoys was treated with Zinga (yellow
buoy) whilst the other was galvanised in the traditional hot-dip process (green buoy). Both buoys were top-coated to the same thickness of polyurethane but with a supplementary primer for the hot-dipped buoy. As you can see the green buoy is severely corroded in several places whilst the Zinganised buoy shows no trace of rust.