Cathelco have now won orders to supply seawater pipework anti-fouling systems for all three of the cantilever jack-up rigs operated by KCA Deutag, the international drilling and engineering contractor.

Following the successful installation of a Cathelco system on the Ben Avon in the summer of last year, similar systems will be fitted to the Ben Rinnes and Ben Loyal.

The systems are designed to eliminate blockages in seawater pipework caused by barnacles and mussels which can be difficult and time consuming to remove.

Each jack-up rig will be installed with two strainer units which have been fabricated by Cathelco to house the anti-fouling anodes. These will be fitted above the lift pumps and designed to dose seawater flow rates of up to 273 cubic metres per hour.

Cathelco systems typically consist of pairs of copper and aluminium anodes mounted next to each other, but in this case the copper and aluminium elements were mounted on a single assembly to save space.

In operation, the anodes are fed with an electrical current from a control panel and produce ions of copper and aluminium. The copper ions are carried throughout the pipework system and create an environment in which barnacle and mussel larvae do not settle or breed.

At the same time, aluminium ions are produced which coat the internal surfaces of pipes to create an anti-corrosive layer. The system is, therefore, dual purpose in action, preventing bio-fouling and suppressing corrosion simultaneously.

Cathelco are world leaders in the design of seawater pipework anti-fouling systems with a record of more than 30,000 installations over a period of more than 50 years.

In the offshore market, the company have carried out numerous installations to protect seawater lift pumps on jack-up rigs and offshore platforms. These ensure that vital fire-fighting, power generation and processing equipment is kept free from blockages caused by bio-fouling.

Tags: Cathelco