It was applied in the
1978 refitCunard were asked by the British Admiralty to test a new three-layered anti-fouling paint that had been developed by International Marine Coatings (IMC – formerly International Paints) based in Newcastle. This new Self-Polishing Copolmyer (SPC) was a revolutionary paint system in as much, as its name implied, incorporated the ability for the paint surface to become smoother than when it was applied during a ship’s normal service. Small protuberances and bumps on the paint surface would be gradually worn away by the flow of water past the hull, and so the ship’s resistance decreased substantially – by as much as 30% in some cases. This feature made it an invaluable device for reducing a ship’s fuel consumption compared with conventional coatings, and this was especially so for large and fast ships such as QE2.
The problem aesthetically was that SPC was only available (at that time) in blue, green or maybe grey and these colours were applied in alternate layers. This enabled coverage and erosion rates to be observed by seeing which colour was showing. The blue would be a break from the traditional liner boot-topping of red and it was never understood (economy?) why QE2 could not be given the normal vermillion boot-top over the SPC paint.
The blue altered the external appearance of QE2 but was only used for a short period before shades of red were available and the boot-topping was re-painted. The degree of success would be monitored closely after the refit. Cunard’s specified requirement for the final smoothness was a maximum of 200 microns (contract was + 7 ½). Preliminary independent measurements made by B.S.R.A indicated an average of 185 microns. This new paint was expected to last two years – and was expected to save 12% of QE2’s fuel bill of £5 million over two years.
Before QE2 dry-docked, 50 20-ton lorries had delivered all the equipment within 24 hours and in a record-breaking four shifts, 27 miles of stage tubing involving 28,000 connections and 11 miles of walkway had been erected around the ship.
A 24-man blasting team worked at night to blast 12,000 square metres of hull between the liner’s keel ad deep load line. Following surface treatment and a holding primer, three coats of anti-corrosive and four coats of Intersmooth were applied.
Cunard would encounter difficulties with the paint when QE2 was in service.
