SPS Overlay: 23500 sq.ft RoRo Main Deck Plating Renewal, 30 days off-hire Available to Purchase

The plating of the main deck of the ropax ferry PRINCESS OF ACADIA (1971) was renewed during the month of March 2010 using Sandwich Plate System (SPS) Overlay. In comparison to conventional repair methods the processes used reduced costs and the out of service time making the deck renewal on the elderly ship viable. The SPS Overlay was installed afloat at the ferry terminal whereas a conventional renewal would have required drydocking the ship. This paper describes the project execution details, the steps involved in applying the SPS Overlay and summarizes the post project impact on the ship’s operational characteristics including passenger impact and future maintainability. SPS Overlay is the conversion of a stiffened plate into a composite plate structure with stiffeners. In the project presented, the existing deck plating is utilized as the bottom faceplate in the newly formed composite deck plating comprising a new steel top plate separated from and fully bonded to the bottom faceplate by a polyurethane elastomer core material. The conversion to an SPS composite deck structure is performed quickly, does not disrupt existing structure, services or insulation and allows other work to be performed in parallel.