The one hour presentation was well received by the 65-strong audience which included, amongst others, representatives from Teekay Marine, Transocean, Northern Marine, CalMac, Anglo Eastern, VWS Westgarth, Technip and Safety at Sea.

The main focus of Dave’s presentation was the causes of underwater ship repair and maintenance and the current processes and equipment available to effect repairs – these included:

• Hull damage – collision, grounding, corrosion, fatigue
• Replacement of defective equipment logs to propellers, anodes to rudder replacement
• Inspection and non destructive testing (NDT)
• Planned maintenance – hull cleaning, propeller polishing, etc
• Coatings upkeep
• Retrofitting of components and systems

All the above were discussed in great detail throughout the presentation.

Another main part of Dave’s presentation concentrated on future technologies for underwater repair and maintenance – i.e. emerging technologies such as cavitation cleaning systems and ultrasonic antifouling systems.

Dave summarised his presentation with the following points :-

• UMC International provide a comprehensive range of techniques and equipment which allow repairs and maintenance of ships and rigs without docking.

• There is a growing acceptance of underwater engineering as part of planned maintenance and repair.

• There is an increased commitment by equipment OEMs to design in features to allow for underwater engineering.

• Emerging technologies and processes are being developed to satisfy environmental legislation and market requirements.

• Classification societies are working with ship owner/operators to embrace the benefits of underwater engineering.

The presentation concluded with a lively Q&A session which showed a high level of interest from all those present.

For more information, please contact:    
Dave Richards
Engineering Director
UMC International Plc (UK)
Tel +44 (0) 2380 258 384
E-mail:  dave.richards@umc-int.com