A bulk carrier was lying in dock in Esbjerg. The vessel was experiencing problems with sticking valves, and could hardly maintain the temperature required to keep the cargo in liquid form – despite the fact that the vessel's thermal oil system had recently been chemically cleaned. The vessel's insurance company therefore asked us to solve the problem.

Engineers from Ocean Team boarded the ship and ascertained that chemical remnants had been left in the system after the recent cleaning, causing the formation of sludge in the pipe system. Moreover, the chemical cleaning had caused severe damage to the valves and gaskets. As a result, the compensators and cooler leaked and the cooler showed signs of corrosion. The entire system was contaminated with dirt, and the ship could no longer manoeuvre.

Ocean Team organised an ad hoc cleaning operation in which six technicians cleaned the whole system using a two-stage chemical process. Subsequently, we drained the system, replaced the valves and repaired the cooler. Fourteen days later – three days earlier than anticipated – the ship was able to continue its journey.