Cathelco's C-Shield System is the most technically advanced and versatile system on the market. Since it was introduced in 1991 it has been fitted to more than 21,000 ships worldwide.
Cathelco has created a series of ICCP (Impressed Current Cathodic Protection) systems for all types of vessels. The C–Shield system combines the advanced design of the control panel with an unusually wide range of hull anodes.
There are also systems that have been specially designed for fast ferries with steel and aluminium hulls and compact systems for smaller craft.
Whatever the ship, Cathelco can offer the latest in effectiveness and reliability to combat corrosion of the hull.
Corrosion on the wetted surface of the hull, propellers and rudders is inevitable despite advances in coatings that are applied to ship's hulls. From the moment the hull comes into contact with seawater, galvanic corrosion begins to occur on the surface of the hull due to flaws in the paintwork, pores and other factors that result in the formation of galvanic microcells on the steel of the hull. Part of these galvanic microcells becomes an anode area and the other part becomes a cathode area, creating a galvanic couple and thereby causing corrosion.
Cathelco's Impressed Current Cathodic Protection System constantly monitors the hull, detecting the appearance of corrosion. This monitoring is carried out by means of reference electrodes that are fitted to the hull, which measure the potential difference over the surface of the hull. When the potential difference indicates the beginning of a corrosion process, the system's computer activates the injection of an electrical current through the current injection anodes, which transmit it through the metal surface of the hull and the seawater itself. This current balances the potential difference to achieve the previous protection values, keeping the hull completely corrosion-free throughout its lifetime.
