Earlier this year, the two companies created an alliance enabling the specialist diving services of UMC International to be used for the installation and maintenance of corrosion protection systems supplied by Cathelco.

The Yonderberry jetty project, commissioned by Babcock, has involved installing a new sacrificial anode system that will protect the steel piles of the north and south ‘dolphins’ used for mooring vessels during refuelling. 

Yonderberry Jetty  is a strategic fueling jetty based on the UK South Coast that serves ships operating from HMNB Devonport, the largest naval base in Western Europe.

“This is the first project where we have been able to combine Cathelco’s and UMC’s expertise to provide a practical and reliable corrosion solution for a client. I am sure there will be many more opportunities in the future”, said Justin Salisbury, managing director of Cathelco.

The Corrintec division of Cathelco has supplied 25 sacrificial anodes for each of the ‘dolphins’ which are attached by brackets to the steelwork using a team of  specialist divers from UMC International.

Through their background of experience UMC have devised specialised techniques for handling anodes underwater. This involves lowering them on polypropylene carriers which offer a degree of buoyancy as they are manoeuvred into position.

Previously, the ‘dolphins’ had been protected against corrosion using ‘anode sleds’ positioned on the river bed, but it was found that these alone did not provide a sufficiently high level of protection. Another aspect to the project was for the divers to remove accumulated silt from the submerged ‘anode sleds’ using air hoses.

Prior to anode installation, Corrintec undertook surveys to establish the existing level of cathodic protection and followed this up with a mid-dive survey. A comprehensive survey was conducted at the end of the installation to confirm that the new cathodic protection system was offering the optimum level of corrosion protection.