Multi-criteria decision-making methodology for the selection of cargo hold coating for bulk carriers

ABSTRACT

The coating of cargo holds of bulk carriers constitutes the primary source of protection of the vessel’s structure against corrosion, while at the same time ensures the proper cleanliness in the holds and thus the protection of cargoes against contamination. Therefore, it plays a significant role in the vessel’s commercial operation, trading and lifecycle, making the correct selection of the coating system very important for the shipowner. This covers the design, construction and operation of the vessel and especially the maintenance and recoating of the vessel’s cargo holds. The paper herein presents a methodology for ranking and assessing coatings in a systematic, quantitative and qualitative way, in terms of the desired merits of the ideal coating system. It demonstrates the methodology’s application using three entirely different coatings and evaluating their performance at both laboratory and full scale.

KEYWORDS:

• Coating technology
• cargo holds
• bulk carriers
• corrosion protection

Acknowledgments

The authors would hereby to express their deep gratitude to Star Bulk Carriers Corp. and its CEO Mr. Petros Pappas for guiding them through the scope of application, testing and comparison as well as for providing the application test case on board a Post Panamax vessel.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

Evangelos Boulougouris http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5730-007X