Ship crews use medieval tools - chipping hammers, grinders, needle guns - to remove deck rust. Such tools drive rust and salt into your steel instead of removing it: Reason why corrosion returns after 2-4 months and your deck never improve.

 

Only grit blasting gives over 5 years repair life. Aquajet AJ-50X and AJ-150XL are small 50 or 150 lbs blasters on wheels, designed to eradicate deck rust with ease. Blasters powered by ship air pressure, little natural grit and very little fresh water.

 

Replacing power tool repair by regular Aquajet use: can cut deck repairs by 80%. 

 

Every sailor knows it better the simple fact - deck condition never improves with jet chisels, grinders, and needle guns.  All “power tooling" works for 2-3 months til rust returns. 

 

Happy are only epoxy makers selling you more “cosmetic paint”. They sell you 20 times more paint than they should.

CASE STUDIE 1:

Work on the accommodation block:

 

As first impression we all know that a rusty accommodation block is the first things noted by PSC officers, Vetting Inspectors and for sure Passengers - the only cost-effective and long-term solution is to apply along last paint scheme!

 

For this you need - the correct tool and correct training of the crew.

 

 

But how do you manage this equation:

 

With Acids / Basic chemicals? All to "whiten" the paint - kind of wasted money - not the best for the environment and for sure it is not long lasting! - In other words, waste of time, waste of manpower, and a waste of good money - as you will soon have to redo the job!

 

Needle guns, hammers, and grinders - we all know this is a short-term solution as the surface preparation is far from optimal - even has a detrimental result as the crew will remove good adhered paint in the quest!

 

How do you plan and execute this job if you use tools like needle guns, hammers, and grinders, as for sure they will keep any crew member in need of required sleep, wide awake! - Support your crews rest hours - they need them!

 

 On passenger ships:

 

It is for sure not an option to use any machine that makes noise, also with the environmental sensitive passengers, to use Chemicals is a poor solution. 

CONCLUSION:

- The only solution is to use the Aquajet!

 

In addition, we strongly advise to include a training session with the crew - although most crews have good training from shore - what about the senior management onboard?

 

Chief mates have risen through the rank starting as a Cadets - very few have really worked with their hands on deck even less had any good training. and if they did how focused where they - as for sure their main focus is to become an officer, Chief Mate and for sure Captain of a ship - so preparing decks and paint is a very low priority and for sure will be forgotten if ever remembered,

 

If you have any doubts - suggest going to BSO-Svendborg for advice and training. And his video will surprise you as what many believe is a good enough surface preparation - well it is not!

 

And the only real solution is to use a handheld easy to reach all areas slurry blaster.

Aquajet in action - keep it going, first water and air - then when the grit comes - nice surface with perfect feathering of the transition from prepared bare steel to adhered paint

Check out the instruction video from BSO - bet you had no clue how much dirt is left behind!

What is AQUAJET? 

 

Aquajet AJ-50X and AJ-150X are small 50 or 150 lbs blasters on wheels, designed to efficiently eradicate rust spots on deck / in ballast tanks. Blasters run on air pressure, natural grit and little fresh water. No worker's risk, no dust - clean and safe work. Due to the low operating pressure of 7 bar, they are very safe, don't break as easily compared to water jets operating at 200-500 bar. Cost of spare parts is reasonable. The small AJ-50X set works on normal ship air pressure and needs 4.2 m³/min = 150 ft³/min, the stronger AJ-150X blaster takes 5.6 m³/min = 229 ft³/min. 

 

Offshore and LNG carriers prohibit dry sandblasting. But they specify Aquajet wet abrasive blasting. Aquajet water and grit consumption are minimal.

 

Aquajet will under normal consumption for:

  • Grit - use around 20kg/m² grit while conventional and shipyard blasters use approximately 80 kg/m².
  • Water- use around 400-600 lits water/day compared to hydro blasters consumption of some 6 - 8m³ (6000 - 8000 lits water per day).
  • The Aquajet garnet grit can be reused 2-4 times. 

 

Important is the air flow. For the smaller AJ-50X blaster it must be ideally at least 150 ft³/min @ 7bar. Most ships use 100-200 ft³/min @ 7 bar deck air compressors so usually we sell the smaller AJ-50X set. 

 

Water consumption is minimal - about 600 lits/day or 1.2 lits/min. Grit consumption typically 15-25 kgs/m² before recycling. Grit can be reused 2-4 times. Most crews need approximately 3 tons in 3-5 months. Subject to deck condition and work time. 

Some facts to take into account

The rough calculation that even with a margin for error is quite astounding:

 

Cost of manpower and paint over 5 years: 

 

  • Power tooling:                            2000 %
  • Hydro jetting:                              800 %
  • Wet abrasive spot blasting:      100 %

 

In comparison:  

1 Aquajet repaired rust spot (with correct done paint scheme*) lasts over 5 years. Rust won’t return in less than 5 years. 

 

In comparison to a 200 or 500 bar HP hydro jetAquajet has the following benefits: 

  • Repair life 5-8 years instead of 1 year.
  • Highest possible surface preparation standard. A roughness of Sa 2.0 to Sa 3.0.
  • Excellent feathering, impossible for all hydro jets 
  • 1/20th of hydro jet repair frequency (at 7 bar nothing breaks in first 12-24 months)
  • 1/15th average cost of spares 
  • NO "wear parts” needed (12 months full warranty on ALL parts) 
  • NO accidents (at 7 bar hardly anything can happen) and certainly no risks as with 200-400 plus bar
  • NO missed areas: short nozzle ensures easy access of hard-to-reach areas (between pipes, pipe supports, underneath gratings, behind stiffeners etc.) Impossible for long hydro jet lance.
  • 600 liters water per day instead of 6-8 tons of water per day (hydro jet) 
  • WATER! - do you have sufficient water onboard to support a Hydro Jet? With a consumption in region of some 6-8 tons of water per day - knowing Freshwater generators sometime at best make some 15T/day - the crew will normally consume 10 - 12T/day (how many times have we not seen a pair of sock being washed in the washing machine?) Water will always be an issue, and with MLC breathing down your neck - better have a safe margin on this commodity.

 

* Contact BSO-Svendborg for training and guidance on paint store, and optimal quantities - as it is many ships just pull out last order and copies it and as a result stores get overloaded with paint that just takes space, cost money and good for nothing!

CASE STUDIE 2:

Asset value:

It is quite strange if an owner would not want the asset value to remain - but with that also means tradable - Oil majors will always write down any Tanker/Gas ship that shows lack of proactive maintenance as it shows weak onboard and shore management.

 

Even PSC will be vigilant if they see rust streaks on deck - simply what else is not taken care of - and rightly they ask and make these remarks.

 

Sadly many Vessel managers are cash strapped so there is a limited amount of money for cosmetics - what is worse the management of this important task is left to crew with no real training thus if the Chief mate and Bosun are weak - the deck will show this very fast as uncontrolled rust.

 

to add on the problem - paint is applied wrong, with a roller instead of hand brush for the primers leaving "repaired" areas with too low dft so rust will break through more or less after two-three months. One can easily calculate that the amount of wasted paint is two-thirds of the consumed budget.

CONCLUSION:

- The only solution is to use the Aquajet and support with qualified training!

 

In addition, we strongly advise to include a training session with the crew - although most crews have good training from shore - what about the senior management onboard?

 

Chief mates have risen through the rank starting as a Cadets - very few have really worked with their hands on deck even less had any good training. and if they did how focused where they - as for sure their main focus is to become an officer, Chief Mate and for sure Captain of a ship - so preparing decks and paint is a very low priority and for sure will be forgotten if ever remembered,

 

If you have any doubts - suggest going to BSO-Svendborg for advice and training. And his video will surprise you as what many believe is a good enough surface preparation - well it is not!

 

And the only real solution is to use a handheld easy to reach all areas slurry blaster.