“We coated the weather deck with good result,” says Mr. Olsén, Technical Manager with Eckerö Group. “After one year in traffic and many thousands of cargo tons there are no failures to the coating at all.”
 
Eckerö Line was founded in 1994 and is part of the Eckerö Group. They offer reliable and high-quality cargo services on the Helsinki-Tallinn-Helsinki route. As a Finnish shipping company, they provide the Finnish export industry a reliable and regular contact to the European market and ensure that consumer goods are available to the whole of Finland.
 
Lasting protection against ice
 
FINBO CARGO was upgraded to an Ice Class program this year. “We decided quite fast that we needed a coating that we knew could handle the ice conditions in the Baltic Sea,” says Mr. Olsén.” Ecospeed’s resistance against ice is ideal to complement the ship’s new structural ice protection.
 
For over 10 years several ships coated with Ecospeed have been sailing the most northern parts of the Baltic Sea during the winter season when they are completely frozen. Despite the frequent impact of large floes, none of these ships have required more than just a few touch-ups during their drydock visits. The evidence these dockings gave of Ecospeed’s durability and protection against harsh winter conditions convinced the owners of FINBO CARGO that the coating was ideal for their ferry.

Easy application, no repaints
 
During the busy tourist season ferries need to be sailing frequently so the best time for drydocking is the low season when there is less cargo and fewer passengers. “We decided to choose a system that initially costs a bit more but in the end saves us a lot in maintenance cost,” continues Mr. Olsén. “That is an important factor for us since our dockings are mainly done during winter in bad weather conditions when the quality of repair work to the paint system cannot be guaranteed.” For this reason it was essential to reduce the necessary maintenance and paint work during future drydockings.
 
The initial application of the Ecospeed underwater hull coating can easily be geared to the schedule of the yard. This flexibility can be achieved with Ecospeed because the coating has versatile application potentials. Either of the two required layers can be applied at any time during the building process, even when there is a winter period or serious bad weather between applications.
 
The durability of Ecospeed makes the planning of future dockings far easier for the shipowner and the shipyard. No repainting beyond minor touch-ups will be required. These touch-ups can easily be done during a short visit.
 
Conclusion
 
The application on FINBO CARGO clearly demonstrates that Ecospeed is not only the best option for the underwater hull of a ship but can also be used for a wide range of other purposes. The result is always the same: a lasting, non-toxic protection against corrosion, cavitation and even mechanical damage.