NORWEGIAN coatings supplier Jotun is looking towards a wider application of its Cathcom/Cathlink corrosion monitoring and control system, a satellite communications and internet-based service.

The system has already been deployed in the onshore environment, as part of a collaboration with Statoil.

Jotun, which claims to be unique in manufacturing the cathodic protection systems needed to give optimum protection for hulls and ballast tanks as well as the coatings, offers sacrificial anode and impressed current (ICCP) systems for corrosion control.

The Cathcom service offers the potential for customers to monitor rectifier performance within the anti-corrosion coating on an impressed current solution and to manipulate it electronically, controlling the level of cathodic protection available to a structure on a continuous basis, sources say.

The system has been applied to pipelines connecting Statoil platforms in the North Sea with Norwegian receiving terminals over the last 18 months, with information on corrosion levels constantly monitored, for resistance adjustment as the environment changes.

Jotun's managing director, cathodic protection department Ulf Aspaas, says that for marine applications, the number of variables are greater, with cathodic protection being a factor in the trading environment in which a ship is operating. Coatings are more likely to suffer surface damage in transit and as a result of handling operations.

However, Aspaas says that Jotun will develop a comparable service for shipowners. The supplier is considering whether to offer a marine service itself, engage third parties to offer monitoring, or leave the monitoring function to ship owners.

It recently formed an alliance with Cathelco Ltd, to enhance the global support offered to clients using paint systems and ICCP technology.