Kamat Develops Remote Controlled High-Pressure Ship Hull and Tank Cleaning
KAMAT has developed the “Ship Hull Crawler”, a system for automated cleaning and paint removal for ship hulls, tanks and other steel structures.
The Ship Hull Crawler is specially developed by KAMAT for cleaning and removal of paint from ships, tanks or other large steel surfaces. The Crawler is hold by magnets and maneuvered by a remote control, allowing to remotely control also the rotating nozzles. The system is designed for high pressure water blasting with pressures up to 3000 bar.
When a ship´s hull that has been cleaned from shells, it consumes 40% less energy. This is the reason why shipping companies regularly have tankers and container ships cleaned. The workflow for paint removal to prepare the surface for applying new protective coatings is similar. Each process is carried out semi-automatically with high pressure pump systems at a working pressure of up to 2,500 bar. These works are strenuous and time-consuming and scaffold constructions or lifting platforms are required on top if you do not use a “Crawler”.
Specialized in high pressure pumps and systems, KAMAT has equipped many shipyards worldwide with cleaning equipment. Based on long years of experience and know-how KAMAT has developed a system for cleaning and paint removal from large steel surfaces which allows a significantly higher level of automation: the “Ship Hull Crawler” (SHC 3000).
The Ship Hull crawler moves pneumatically with chain drives. Strong magnets fix the unit to the wall. A regulated 300 – 480 mm nozzle rotor with controlled rotational speed cleans with water pressures of up to 3000 bar.
As the system is operated via remote control, the user is at a safe distance from the working area. Any function of the high-pressure system as well as the drive functions are comfortably controlled in a wide range. Cleaning surfaces e.g. requires a higher driving speed of the unit compared to paint removal.
The combination of pneumatic chain drive with the solid magnetic adhesion allows precise movement of the Ship Hull Crawler on smooth surfaces at different speeds. The SHC 3000 is also able to travel over openings and edges of the steel surfaces as well as moving in a close radius. Furthermore, even overhead-work is possible.
Thus the classic job with a spraying-gun for cleaning ship hulls or tanks can be replaced by a process with increased automation. This saves time and shortenes down- and idling times, as scaffold construction or a lifting platforms are no more necessary. The KAMAT KAMJET is the pump unit that has been developed as a tailor-made high-pressure power source for for driving the SHC 3000.