9th January 2026

In the January edition of International Oil & Gas Engineer, Dinko Cudic, Market & Applications Development Director at Henkel Adhesive Technologies, shared how the company’s STOPAQ brand is protecting infrastructure with innovative corrosion solutions.

What are the main challenges that subsea assets face in terms of corrosion, mechanical damage and long-term coating performance?

DC: The subsea environment is inherently hostile, constant exposure to saltwater, oxygen and environmental aggressors create the perfect environment for corrosion. This is compounded by damage from currents, marine life, floating debris, vessels and tidal impacts in addition to constantly changing temperatures.

Surface preparation can be difficult, expensive and variable in what can be achieved. You might be contending with marine growth, aged assets deteriorating or coatings that have failed. Typical approaches involve abrasive blasting which is challenging and resource intensive to achieve with constant tidal movement and underwater. Not to mention, abrasives and old coatings ending up in the ocean.

If the coating is rigid there is risk to mechanical stress from bending, vibrations trawlers, anchors or vessel impact – one small crack and the risk for corrosion to creep and spread is high. Cathodic protection systems are often deployed to reduce corrosion but they rely on both consistent electrical signal and coating integrity. There can be risks to interference from local vessels/equipment interrupting that signal, under protection or over protection, challenges in deepwater or even from coating failures themselves.

Additional challenges come from complex geometries to be protected, inspection and repair is notoriously difficult to perform, not to mention the cost, aging assets in situ, restrictive windows for operation due to tides, weather and traffic in the area.

Overall it’s a tough situation to manage.

 

Dinko goes on to discuss how visco-elastic technology differs from alternative subsea coatings, how surface preparation is a critical barrier in offshore work and much more. 

 

You can continue to read the rest of the article via the flipbook edition of the magazine here. (Page 6-7)