Subsea Industries has applied its hard-type Ecolock protective coating to the hull of a 26,320m³ floating storage and regasification (FSRU) unit nearing completion at the Wison Offshore & Marine shipyard in Nantong, China.

It is the second major coatings project Subsea Industries has completed in China for Exmar.

Following the company’s approach to applying hard coating technology to its barge-type floating assets, in combination with the success of the 2013 Ecospeed application to the 16,100m³ Caribbean FLNG unit, the decision was made to specify Ecolock for the entire hull of the newbuild FSRU.

The experience of the shipyard gained from the Caribbean FLNG application – the first time it had applied a Subsea Industries’ product – resulted in the hard coating being applied more quickly.

Like the first project, the FSRU was built in blocks which were coated prior to assembly. Weld seams and inaccessible areas were coated after the unit was assembled.

Ecolock is single, homogenous protective covering for static steel structures that provides asset owners with a tough, durable coating designed to remain intact throughout the vessel’s life without drydocking, repair or replacement.

Prior to application, preparation work has to be carried out to ensure a structural profile of at least 75µm (SA2.5 or better). Ecolock is then applied but requires no primer or other type of coating. Typically, just two 500µm coats are applied with minimum curing time of three hours between each application

Shortly after the Ecolock application, the FSRU was floated out of the Wison shipyard for completion of the topsides installation and pre-commissioning of the unit.