Wind turbines like this will benefit greatly from Ecolast, as the coating will preserve the regulated colour of the lower part of their towers (photo: Teun van den Dries)

Subsea Industries has introduced a new UV-resistant coating to its portfolio of tough, non-toxic and environmentally-safe marine hard coatings.

Formulated to meet increasing demand for a hard coating capable of withstanding ultraviolet (UV) radiation, Ecolast offers the same high level of corrosion and abrasion protection common to all Subsea Industries’ coating systems, while completely preserving the colour of the original coating.

“Regular coatings will quickly lose their original colour when exposed to the ultraviolet radiation present in sunlight. This is problematic when colourfastness is required, such as in the offshore wind farm sector,” says Subsea Industries’ Executive Director Boud Van Rompay.

While Ecolast provides lasting colourfast protection to any application, the offshore wind segment is a primary market for Subsea Industries, given that the bottom part of the wind turbine tower is painted in the same regulatory yellow for safety purposes.

“It is essential that the coating used does not change colour. In most cases an extra layer of polyurethane is applied to preserve the colour. This additional layer is, however, not resistant to abrasion and offers only a temporary fix. A more permanent and less cumbersome solution is Ecolast,” says Van Rompay,

Introduced to the maritime industry this week during the SMM trade fair in Hamburg, Germany, Subsea Industries’ Production Executive and NACE Coatings Inspector, Manuel Hof, says, “The number of global offshore wind farm projects entering the construction phase points to significant market growth for the sector in coming years, with analysts predicting capacity peaking at 9.2GW in 2022. If these new installations are coated with Ecolast, they will be protected against salt, ultraviolet radiation, waves, even ice. Mechanical damage to the coated surface is minimised. This is especially important for (semi-)submerged structures like wind turbines that are located in splash or tidal zones.”

“Ecolast will keep its colour because it is highly ultraviolet resistant. Like all other coatings systems in the Subsea Industries family, Ecolast is completely impervious to abrasion and corrosion. As a result no repaint is required once the coating has been applied, safeguarding the colour and the integrity of the structure or vessel, while negating costly recoats and substrate preparation work,” adds Hof.

Application of Ecolast is done in two homogenous layers, with no need for primer or any other extra layer. This makes the application very fast and easy to adapt to the schedule of a yard.

Tags: Subsea Industries