Hempaguard® ensures fast turnaround for Sanco Sky after 18-month idle period
Sanco Shipping’s support ships enable seismic vessels to keep operating without calling in port for fuel or other provisions. However, these support ships travel at very low speeds and often switch between warm and cold waters, which makes fouling a challenge. As a result, Sanco Shipping often had to bring its ships into dry dock between jobs to have the hull cleaned and the hull coating re-applied, which is both costly and time-consuming.
When we released Hempaguard, our most advanced hull coating to date, Sanco Shipping was keen to give it a try. Thanks to its unique technology, Hempaguard keeps fouling at bay for up to 90 months – delivering 6 per cent fuel savings compared to best-in-class antifoulings over the entire service interval – even if a vessel operates at slow speeds or changes trading patterns. It also comes with a market-leading idle period guarantee.
Sanco Shipping applied Hempaguard X7 to its seismic support ship Sanco Sky in October 2014. After a year in operation, the vessel’s hull was free of fouling. At this point, Sanco Sky was laid up beside the dock. When it returned to service 18 months later, the hull was still almost completely fouling free. This saved Sanco Shipping significant dry dock expenses, and ensured a faster delivery of the ship to Sanco Shipping’s customer.
Hempaguard surpassed our expectations. When we inspected the hull after an 18-month idle period, it was almost completely clean of fouling. This saved us significant dry dock costs, and meant we could deliver the vessel to our customer much faster.Ivar Slettevoll, CEO Sanco Shipping
The challenge
Seismic vessels search the ocean bed for oil and gas deposits. Due to the advanced equipment they carry, entering harbour for these vessels is time-consuming and expensive. Sanco Shipping’s support ships enable seismic vessels to keep operating without calling into port for fuel or other provisions.
Sanco Shipping’s seismic support ships operate year round, travelling at very low speeds of just 3-6 knots and often switching between warm and cold waters during the year. This makes fouling a big challenge. When fouling organisms – such as barnacles and biological slime – attach to the hull, the extra they create means more fuel is needed to move the ship through the water. Special hull coatings keep fouling at bay, but very few maintain performance if the vessel changes trading patterns or stands idle for any period of time.
For Sanco Shipping, this meant that its ships often had to undergo expensive and time-consuming hull cleaning, blasting and coating re-application between jobs. The company was, therefore, looking for a hull coating that would continue to perform, even when its ships changed trading patterns or stood idle for extended periods.
The solution
Our solution was Hempaguard, our most advanced hull coating to date. Thanks to its unique formation, Hempaguard delivers 6 per cent fuel savings compared to best-in-class antifoulings over the entire service interval – even if the vessel is idle for extended periods, moves slowly or changes trading patterns. This is important for Sanco Shipping’s customers, as it means that the support ships consume less fuel and are less expensive to operate.
Sanco Shipping applied Hempaguard X7 to its seismic support ship Sanco Sky in October 2014. After a year in operation, the vessel’s hull was free of fouling. At this point, Sanco Sky was laid up beside the dock. When it returned to service 18 months later, the hull was still almost completely free of fouling and only required light cleaning – a one-day dry dock procedure – before it was ready sail again.
This not only saved Sanco Shipping costs associated with hull blasting and coating re-application, but also ensured faster delivery of the ship to Sanco Shipping’s customer.
At a glance
| Vessel owner | Sanco Shipping AS |
| Location | Curaçao |
| Vessel/IMO number | Sanco Sky (IMO: 9186326) |
| Coating system | Hempaguard X7 |
| Date of application | October 2014 |
| Vessel areas | Vertical Sides and Flat Bottom |
