AVON, OHIO headquartered manufacturer Advanced Polymer Coatings has signed a deal with Odfjell to recoat three of its chemical tankers as its 2024 order book continues to grow. The work will see APC replacing zinc coating with its industry-leading MarineLINE® protective tank coating on the vessels, part of Norwegian headquartered Odfjell Tankers’ fleet of around 70 ships.
Odfjell specializes in the shipping of chemicals and liquid and serves more than 600 customers across the globe. The recoating work for the shipping group is due to get underway at the Chengxi Shipyard Co. Ltd in Jiangyin city, Jiangsu province, China in March 2024 and will continue until July.
The 46,098 DWT BOW ELM will be the first tanker to undergo the work, with six of its 29 tanks receiving MarineLINE® coating to replace zinc. It follows earlier recoating work carried out on the vessel by APC in 2021. The 49,622 DWT BOW TRAJECTORY will see eight of its 22 tanks converted from zinc to MarineLINE® in the latest phase of work on the tanker carried out by APC. That will be followed by a full recoat of the 49,622 DWT, 22 tank BOW TRIDENT with APC’s industry-leading coating.
All three vessels were built in South Korea. Construction on BOW ELM was completed in 2011 with TRAJECTORY and TRIDENT delivered in 2014.
Odfjell began its strategy of replacing zinc coating with MarineLINE® in its older vessels in 2019 and has developed a strong working relationship with APC. MarineLINE® Global Customer Care Manager Stephen Jarvie says the flexibility that the coating delivers is increasingly becoming a major factor for tanker owners and operators.
He said: “Although some shipowners use zinc-lined carriers for methanol service, this strategy eliminates versatility in their operation, resulting in lost profits if the ship returns without any backhaul cargo after making its delivery. It really doesn’t add up commercially for them any longer.
“Zinc coatings also have high absorption characteristics, which can cause some cargo retention and lead to purity issues in subsequent cargoes, limiting backhauling and service. Owners and operators looking to maximise their operations can see the benefits of MarineLINE® and the versatility to carry a greater range of cargoes that its use allows.”
MarineLINE® has been developed to give protection against thousands of highly aggressive chemicals and as a result protects cargo tanks from more IMO approved chemicals than any other coating in the world.
APC’s VP of Sales and Marketing, Matt Sokol, adds: “MarineLINE® offers a clear cleaning advantage to our customers, meaning they can turn their vessels around quickly and clean with less harsh chemicals, all while saving time and money. In a highly competitive environment these things really make a difference.
“The latest contract with Odfjell is also another example of a much-valued customer returning for more work from us because they can clearly see the commercial benefits that we deliver for them.”
APC now has around 12 percent of the global chemical tanker coating market with some 700 ships worldwide coated with MarineLINE®. Exports underpin APC’s growth with key markets, including China, the Gulf, Croatia, and Turkey.
To cater to the growing demand for MarineLINE® in shipyards in Asia, Europe and America, APC is currently doubling the size of its US factory with a multi-million dollar, eight figure expansion project.
Construction work is underway and once open the new factory will extend the company’s R&D facilities and quadruple production capacity with a new automated manufacturing system. The expanded plant is expected to begin operations in Q4 2024. It represents APC’s biggest investment in its 27-year history.
APC has also invested in a new digital platform for shipping line customers, to help seafarers and vessel operators manage chemical cargoes with more safely. It has recently gone live. The new ‘MarineLINE® Customer Care’ platform has been created to enable shipping lines to better understand how to maintain APC’s MarineLINE® cargo tank coating and the aggressive cargoes it enables them to carry.
The portal is the result of a year-long collaboration with some of the biggest chemical tanker operators in the world, including APC customer Bahri.
The platform is accessed via the APC website and is designed to tackle the primary pain points of cargo tank maintenance. The portal features details on more than 2,000 chemicals and the vessels worldwide which have been coated with MarineLINE®.