• US Navy Rear Adm. James McManamon describes the benefits of Envelop covers to crew members aboard the guided missile destroyer USS McFaul. (supplied).
    US Navy Rear Adm. James McManamon describes the benefits of Envelop covers to crew members aboard the guided missile destroyer USS McFaul. (supplied).
Close×

One of the key maintenance costs when maintaining a fleet of warships is countering the effects of corrosion. By the very nature of the vessels’ purpose, corrosion is a fact of life and needs to be dealt with. Rectification is expensive, failures at sea from poorly maintained assets, potentially lethal.

Australian Pumps introduced Envelop covers to the Australian Navy in 2010. Some alert RAN officers, notably, on ANZAC vessels, had already discovered that the US Navy was adopting this NAVSEA devised product, which by then, was made virtually mandatory on every US surface platform.

Today, Envelop protective covers are available in a huge range of codified assets that includes CIWS, torpedos, 50 cal machine guns and more.

Envelop covers are fitted to Australia’s M777 Howitzers and have performed in cutting costs on those key Army assets.

HOW DOES IT WORK?
Envelop covers mitigate corrosion by conditioning the atmosphere under the cover with a Vapour Corrosion Inhibitor (VCI) which forms an inert layer that halts electron transfers, thereby preventing oxidation.

In addition, the corrosion protection protects against moisture, sand, dirt, UV, airborne pollution, heat, cold, FOD impact, and wind.

THE USN LEADS THE WAY
Rear Admiral James P. McManamon, in his role as Deputy for Surface Warfare at Naval Sea Systems Command, became a major sponsor for Envelop covers when he saw clearly the gains to be made in both readiness and cost reductions.

Topside equipment including weapons, sensors, antennas, boats, firefighting systems, electrical systems, capstans and lots more equipment were targeted early for covers. Our Navy, particularly ANZAC and FFG Class ships, were quick to pick up on the opportunities to cut costs.

“When we pointed out to the FFG SPO that the US Navy were claiming to save up to $40 million annually, back in 2010, they were impressed! That figure is probably vastly more today,” said Aussie Pumps Chief Engineer, John Hales.

The US Navy’s first significant outfitting of a ship was the Arleigh Burke Class Destroyer, USS Cole. This was carried out after it completed repairs from the October 2000 attack in Aden.

Since then, the covers have proved their worth in a huge number of applications for defence, merchant marine and even mining, oil and gas. The US Defence Department was quick to pick up on using Envelop for artillery, unmanned aerial vehicles and aircraft engine inlets and outlets.

“The cost reductions are a result of significant direct reductions in daily and/ or operational corrosion maintenance and reduce depot maintenance due to corrosion," said McManamon.

“Additionally, the effectiveness of Envelop covers in preventing the intrusion of sand and other contaminants significantly improves operational readiness of topside equipment," he said.

THE AUSTRALIAN OPPORTUNITY
With the progressive introduction of Australia’s new fleet, there are significant opportunities for the Department of Defence to cut maintenance costs at this early stage. Australian Pump have been on board the LHD’s, at the ship’s request and have measured up already covers for a significant number of applications including the huge mooring capstans the top deck.

“Those capstans are subject to weather abuse on a continuous basis and really need the protection of Envelop to maintain their readiness and to cut maintenance duties," said Aussie Pumps’ Hales.

The DDG vessels also present significant opportunities for cost reduction by using Envelop. “We know that the ships were supplied with conventional covers as part of their outfitting. It’s tragic to see that Envelop wasn’t specified during the early build dates for both DDG and LHD vessels," he said.

Australian Pump runs a simple modelling process and can produce prototype covers within a matter of weeks for even for the most complex covers. 

"We came up with covers for the Hiab deck cranes on the Minehunters. That was quite a complex cover but the prototype, based on our measurements and modelling camera, was a perfect fit, first time!” said Hales.

To quote Admiral McManamon back in early 2011, “We are in the process of outfitting every surface ship in the navy with Envelop covers. This should be completed by the end of 2011," he said.

“Envelop covers are patented but there are poor quality copies already in the market, which may be subject to legal challenges in the near future. Having seen samples, we can see they have not infringed the patent but appear to be more of a ‘raincoat’ than a really absorbent material. Vinyl and canvass are of course useless because they trap moisture under the cover, creating more corrosion, not less," said Hales.

Australian Pumps is working closely with the sustainment offices and have offered a free modelling and protype service for a wide range of covers for Australia’s new ships.

“Budgeting for expensive repairs that could be avoided by fitting Envelop covers seems obvious, especially considering the low cost of the product," said Hales.

Australian Pumps believe that the RAN should follow USN and make Envelop mandatory on all major topside assets to reap the rewards in terms of reduced maintenance, improved readiness and substantially reduced repair costs.

comments powered by Disqus