Roxtec releases new high-pressure tank-boundary seal

An outsize concern on ships is bulkhead penetrations – the need to route pipes and cables through bulkheads in such a way that create holes in the ship. These require special seals and fastenings on either side of the hole to prevent water ingress, a life-or-death matter for those on board. These fastenings must be rated to extremely high-water pressures to ensure they remain watertight, and the issue remains especially pressing when conducting retrofits on existing vessels.

Roxtec, a specialist in these seals, has released a new high-pressure tank-boundary seal, after using it for the first time on British Naval icebreaker HMS Protector.

The system was installed during the retrofit of an ice load monitoring system by Kvasir Group, at UK Docks Teesside. In this particular case, the cable run needed to be both water- and gas-tight, as it was passing through penetrations in a tank boundary wall. Jeff Clark, operations director at Kvasir Group, said: "Roxtec helped us with seals and sleeves especially suited and certified for tank boundaries, and also by creating bespoke cores for the seals."

He added: "When sealing around cables and pipes where traditional solutions are not certified for use, it is critical to be able to ensure verified protection against water pressure, gas, and fire,” explained Jordan McNelly, Roxtec Marine and Offshore Manager North. "Our new Roxtec TB seals have been several years in development. The tests that have been carried out confirm that they ensure tightness up to 6.6 bar for water and 1.2 bar for gas in tank installations.”