Everett Ship Repair Adds Two UHP Water Blasting Systems

Everett, Wash. ship repair yard Everett Ship Repair (ESR) said it has purchased two new 40,000psi ultra-high-pressure (UHP) water blasting systems. Both have been delivered to the shipyard and put into production.

The new water blasting systems are capable of standard surface preparation and specialty applications, and allow ESR to deploy up to four water blasters simultaneously in a wide variety of applications including internal tank hydro blasting for cleaning and coatings removal.

a cost effective and environmentally friendly alternative to abrasive solid blasting material, the UHP water blasting system minimizes labor and waste stream produced by traditional grit blasting and reduces the need for manlifts and scaffolding to access and remove coatings from a ship’s hull and other structures. These robots have an additional benefit of reducing risk of injury and fatigue of personnel.

By using a UHP water blasting system ESR is reducing impact on the environment and the health and safety of personnel. Water blasting is an environmentally responsible process that produces no air pollution and creates significantly less waste disposal over solid grit blasting. When water blasting is performed, the water is reclaimed through a separation system and leaves an inert and non-hazardous sludge behind for disposal. Whereas sandblasting generates significant amounts of spent material consisting of paint-chips, silica and potentially heavy metals. Additionally, the water blasting creates less noise compared to sandblasting and mechanical methods of coatings removal.

ESR said it will also use the UHP system outside the shipyard. ESR is now offering surface prep services for removal of unwanted or contaminated surface materials. ESR will perform pipe cleaning, tank cleaning and UHP surface preparation for marine and industrial customers.