APC seals MarineLINE tanker recoating contract with Sterling Ocean Shipping

Advanced Polymer Coatings (APC) has begun work on a recoating program for Sterling Ocean Shipping aimed at delivering major operational advantages for the international company.

Six Sterling Ocean 25,000 DWT tankers are being recoated with APC’s high-performance MarineLINE coating system – with the US-headquartered operator set to benefit from increased efficiency, emissions performance and trading flexibility.

Work is underway to recoat the first of the chemical tankers – ALFRED N – which was built in 2016 in South Korea. The recoating is taking place at the Yeosu Shipyard in South Korea.

The full program to recoat sister ships, LOUIS P, MARIE C, WILLARD J, LINUS P and OTTO H, will be carried out across 2026. These vessels are also 10 years old and set to take advantage of mid-life recoating.

It is the first contract APC has sealed with Sterling Ocean, which operates a global fleet of product and chemical products and is owned by investment company Alterna Capital Partners.

MarineLINE is a heat-cured polymer coating, designed to form a tightly bonded, non-porous lining with exceptionally low permeability. Supporting a wide range of chemicals, including high-spec grades, it allows for greater cargo versatility. Tank cleaning, curing and return-to-service times are also significantly reduced.

MarineLINE has been installed on approximately 700 vessels worldwide. In terms of lifetime performance, for high-specification chemicals, MarineLINE typically achieves a service life of seven to ten years. In clean petroleum product trades, some installations have exceeded 20 years.

According to APC’s operational modelling, a 25,000 DWT tanker fitted with MarineLINE can earn a considerable premium due to the increased availability and cargo flexibility it delivers.

APC Global Marine Manager Onur Yildirim says there is a growing awareness in the industry of the benefits of mid-life recoating. Programs can extend service life and fundamentally change a tanker’s trading capability - without the capital expenditure associated with a new fleet.

He said: “Tanker operators know that to meet the demands of the modern market, speed, flexibility and the ability to handle challenging cargo sequences are vital. That is what MarineLINE brings to their operation.

“It offers greater cargo versatility and cuts down cleaning and return-to service times significantly. All these benefits remove operational barriers that can lead to loss of trade, and they are measurable.

“We’re finding that operators are increasingly eager to reap the benefits that mid-life recoating can deliver and the return on investment they can expect to receive as a result.”

MarineLINE’s technical superiority lies in the density of its cured polymer surface. Heat curing creates a tightly knitted molecular structure comprising of up to 784 cross-links, forming a chemically inert barrier. In APC studies, MarineLINE has demonstrated resistance to more than 5,000 chemical products.

When it comes to turnaround times, a chemical tanker with premium epoxy-coated tanks carrying methanol, for example, may require seven to ten days for cleaning and ventilation before its next cargo. With MarineLINE, this can be reduced to approximately three days.

APC’s strong commitment to customer care is another major plus. Its digital platform for shipping line customers helps seafarers and vessel operators manage chemical cargoes more safely.

It features details on more than 2,000 chemicals and the vessels worldwide which have been coated with MarineLINE.