Additionally
Stainless steel in the shipping industry is used for all manner of things, not just piping systems. For instance, new structural steel plates have been developed which has resulted in corrosion resistant plates for double hull tankers. Interestingly, crude oil tankers are now required, by law, to have double hulls to prevent oil spillage.
Another advantage of structural steel is that it is lighter which obviously, very advantageously, reduces weight reduction in the ships, consequently reducing both fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.
Duplex stainless steels are also becoming more common in the shipping industry. The reasons for this are numerous:
- It has very good corrosion resistance against many liquids
- It is extremely strong, making it possible for construction engineers to use thinner wall thicknesses and structural profiles therefore reducing charge weight. As an example, using Duplex Stainless Steel for storage tanks can result in a weight reduction for some construction components of up to 40%.
- Customized special profiles can be manufactured on a project-specific basis
- It has good welding characteristics
The growth of the LNG industry also has a lot to answer for in the increase of steels being used in the shipping industry. This is because the transportation method of choice for KLNG is shipping via giant LNG tankers which are designed specifically to preserve the natural gas in a liquid form.
Nickel steel alloys have been found to be the most effective metals for the production, containment and storage of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and other cryogenic substances. This is due to its unrivaled ability to withstand the impact of very low temperatures.
