Boud Van Rompay News

Following a spate of stern tube seal failures, Antwerp-based Hydrex has reiterated its capability in carrying out repairs to stern tube seals during a ship’s routine port visit, saving the expense and loss of revenue of unscheduled drydocking. Stern tube seals can suffer undue wear or damage due to a variety of causes, causing water ingress and oil leaks. With ever-tightening environmental regulations resulting in heavy penalties for oil pollution, rapid and timely repairs are essential.

A new study seeks to determine the extent to which biofouling on ships’ hulls is contributing to the spread of invasive aquatic species in the Mediterranean Sea – a phenomenon commonly associated with ship ballasting operations. According to recent research published by Tel Aviv University’s School of Zoology, half the ships passing along the Mediterranean coast of Israel are carrying invasive ascidians, presenting a global threat to ecosystems around the world. TAU’s Dr. Noa Shenkar…

The reemergence of organotin in marine hull coatings is of increasing concern, with academics and environmentalists calling on International Maritime Organization (IMO) to investigate the use of tin in silicone-based foul release systems and other ships hull coatings. While use of the organotin tributyltin (TBT) was outlawed as an active biocide almost 10 years ago, the IMO is claimed to “have left the door open” for tin as a catalyst, but according to some academics the amount of organotin used suggests it could be acting as the active agent. Dr.

Antwerp Port Authority has supported Hydrex Underwater Technologies’ plan to expand its existing 5000m² site on Asiadok on the River Scheldt with new workshops and offices. As part of its expansion, the result of organic growth over the past two years, Hydrex has also refurbished its dive support workboats and increased its manpower by 25 percent to strengthen its diver-technician capability. Hydrex Chairman Boud Van Rompay said, “The new facility together with our recent recruitment drive is consequent of market demand for swift and cost-effective underwater hull and running gear care.

Subsea Industries’ Ecospeed hull protection system has been selected for RRS Sir David Attenborough, the polar research ship under construction at the Cammell Laird shipyard in Birkenhead, Liverpool, U.K. The £150 million contract to build the vessel, which Cammell Laird won in 2015, represents the biggest commercial shipbuilding contract in Britain for 30 years. The ship has been commissioned by the National Environment Research Council (NERC) and will be operated by British Antarctic Survey (BAS).

The entry into force of the Ballast Water Convention this September will not prevent the transfer of invasive aquatic species (IAS) unless there is mandatory legislation in place to prevent biofouling on ships’ hulls. Indeed, while there is ongoing evaluation of the Biofouling Guidelines set out in MEPC.1/Circ.811, there has been little support from IMO Member States for a new mandatory instrument to reduce the impact of bioufouling. Aside from the guidelines, the issue of biofouling is though not to be on the agenda of the MEPC or any other IMO body. There has been a number of studies comparing the transfer of IAS through ballast with that transferred by hull fouling…

The entry into force of the Ballast Water Convention this September will not prevent the transfer of invasive aquatic species (IAS) unless there is mandatory legislation in place to prevent biofouling on ships’ hulls. Indeed, while there is ongoing evaluation of the Biofouling Guidelines set out in MEPC.1/Circ.811, there has been little support from IMO Member States for a new mandatory instrument to reduce the impact of bioufouling. Aside from the guidelines, the issue of biofouling is though not to be on the agenda of the MEPC or any other IMO body.

Subsea Industries has strengthened its presence in the U.K.’s maritime and renewable energy sectors with opening up of a dedicated marine and offshore coatings office in the U.K. and the appointment of coatings specialist Mark Woods as its U.K.-based technical representative. The new office forms part of Subsea Industries’ wider growth strategy to meet increased demand for the company’s award-winning non-toxic hard coatings. As accounting manager, Woods will head up Chelmsford-based Subsea Industries U.K., with responsibility for sales growth across the company’s complete portfolio of marine coatings. However, the company is actively recruiting sales representatives for other locations.

Classification society Lloyd’s Register has renewed its certification of the Ecospeed hard coating as an approved abrasion resistant hull protection system for vessels operating in Polar waters. Upon receiving the new Certificate, Subsea Industries’ CEO Boud Van Rompay said: “Lloyd’s Register’s renewal confirms the lasting durability and strength of Ecospeed and is indicative of the increasing confidence classification societies have in hard-type protective hull coatings. “The…

Hydrex offers turnkey underwater repair solutions to shipowners wherever and whenever they are needed. Hydrex’s multidisciplinary team will help you find the best solution for any problem encountered with your ship below the water line. Hydrex provides a complete range of high quality underwater repair and maintenance services. These are performed on-site to avoid costly unscheduled off-hire time or a drydock visit. The firm immediately mobilizes its diver/technicians to any location around the globe to carry out necessary repair work without the need to drydock.

With an increasing trend for thruster and rudder manufacturers finishing their products with self-cleaning protective hard coatings, Antwerp headquartered Subsea Industries has introduced a filler coating for use with its award-winning Ecoshield hard coat system. Ecofix, specifically formulated to provide shiprepairers and Original Equipment Manufacturers with a cost-effective solution for the repair of corroded or pitted steel surfaces, returns the thruster or rudder to its original state prior to touching up the repaired area with Ecoshield. Boud Van Rompay, Executive Director of Subsea Industries, said: “We are seeing an increasing…

Shipowners, shipbuilders and representatives from the Green Award Foundation  attended the first in a series of planned ‘roadshows’ Subsea Industries has initiated to demonstrate the zero environmental impact and simplicity of cleaning hulls protected with its Ecospeed hard coating. Taking place last week in Maassluis, just outside Rotterdam, guests boarded Subsea Industries’ maintenance and dive support vessel to watch how vessels coated with Ecospeed can be cleaned effortlessly and legally in harbours…

Subsea Industries, a Hydrex company, announced that its Ecoshield coating system, which offers protection from cavitation and corrosion/erosion damage for ship hulls, rudders and ship underwater running gear, has been recognized with an industry award. The 2014 Innovation in Ship Operations Award was accepted for Subsea Industries by David Phillips, Hydrex Group Communications Executive at an awards dinner in London on April 14, 2014. Boud Van Rompay, Founder of Hydrex and Subsea Industries and the developer of Ecoshield said, “We are delighted to receive this prestigious award.

Rompay is referring to the successful replacement of the removal, repair and subsequent replacement of the vessel's seven-ton bow thruster and propeller - all of which was performed within the loading and unloading schedule of a 5,477 teu container vessel — in the Port of Rotterdam. Relying on more than 30 years experience, Hydrex engineers developed the cofferdam principle and adapted to what is today known as the "mobdock" (mobile mini dry dock). In this particular situation, the design of the vessel was studied in advance, followed by a technical plan that was created to remove the thruster underwater. Problems addressed included the shape of the vessel surrounding the bow thruster.