»
»
Protective Coatings
The same box cooler after lifecycle enhancement, including cleaning, blasting and re-coating on site.
of aggressive factors, including seawater corrosion, galvanic corrosion caused by dissimilar metals, biofouling, and mechanical loading. The new coating was especially optimized for on-site application via a flooding process, allowing both new and existing box coolers to be lined without thermal curing. One crucial technical feature was the possibility to apply it at ambient temperature while achieving a uniform film, thanks to its specific balance of
Box coolers after the application of SÄKATONIT Extra AR-F( in a red variant) in the drydock.
resins, fillers, and hardeners. Unlike baked coatings, its curing process does not require elevated temperatures, streamlining logistics and reducing energy demand during application, thus also supporting more sustainable coating operations.
Early market adoption and field performance After its market introduction in early 2018, the coating was applied to several dozen box coolers in Europe and North America within a short time. On-site application proved to be a key practical advantage, as it eliminated the need to transport large heat exchanger units to specialized coating facilities. One of the first challenging documented projects involved the cleaning, grit blasting, and recoating of 22 box cooler units within 12 days. At the same time, a first long-term performance evaluation was initiated with a set of box coolers re-coated in Newfoundland, Canada, for a vessel engaged in subsea activities. After more than 1 year in service and under different seawater conditions, the ship entered dry dock in Las Palmas, Canary Islands, in 2019. Visual inspections found that neither impressed current anti-fouling systems( ICAF) nor mechanical erosion had caused observable degradation of the SÄKATONIT Extra AR-F coating.
Global service and lifecycle extension By 2020, increased attention from ship classification societies on coating quality and application procedures coincided with the expansion of Säkaphen’ s partner network. A key collaboration was established with Multi Solutions( Norway), www. heat-exchanger-world. com Heat Exchanger World May 2026
45