Cathodic protection

1. Introduction
- Steel ships corrode, and in salt water and a salty atmosphere they tend to corrode fast
so that they need to be protected against corrosion.
- Coatings are used primarily, but can be usefully supplemented by cathodic protection,
an electro-chemical process that was invented in Victorian times to protect the copper bottomed wooden
warships from seawater, but which has over the years been adapted for both marine and shore-side
applications.

Fig 1 - Corrosion outside hull

Fig 2 - Corrosion

inside tank
2. Two types of cathodic protection in use today,
2.1. Passive - Sacrificial anodes (magnesium alloys, zinc or aluminium)
2.2. Active - Cathodic protection (ICCP)
2.1. Passive
The former depending on the use of sacrificial anodes which are attached to the ships hull,
or inside ballast, providing the positive electrodes in an electrolytic process that protects the structure in
its vicinity, which forms the cathode or negative electrode.
Gradually, the effect of sea water sacrifices the anodes, which are made of magnesium
alloys, zinc or aluminium, rather than the structure itself, which remains protected as long as the anodes
remain intact and doing their job.
They will be found fixed around the propeller, rudder and underwater stern of the ship,
ineffective. where the turbulence is such that other forms of corrosion protection could be rendered
Sacrificial anodes are regularly replaced during dry-docking, or during in-water repairs by divers,
after they have wasted away. They are also used extensively within ballast tanks, which are prone
to corrosion.

Fig 3 - Anode around

Fig 4 - Corrosion inside tank

Active cathodic protection, sometimes known as impressed current cathodic protection, is a more modern
technology and employs a low electrical voltage from a rectifier to put a negative charge into the ships
steel structure.
The positive connection is made through a number of anodes, depending on the size of the ship,
which are set into the ships steel plating under water.
Unlike the passive system, the impressed current system can be tuned to provide an optimum
protection depending on the salinity of the water, the state of the ships underwater coating protection
and the speed of the ship.