Miko patch repair kits order

These patches will be carried as salvage kits containing a variety of sizes of magnetic and flexible Kevlar-reinforced fabric patches.

Nicolai Michelsen, managing director, Miko Marine, said: “They have been used to save ships and offshore platforms from sinking on numerous occasions and afterwards people invariably remark upon how the cost of the patch is so insignificant compared with the costs of cleaning-up an environmental disaster that would have occurred had it not been available.”

He pointed out that the patches are of most use to vessels with a high potential to pollute – such as those operating far away from any rescue infrastructure and vessels operating in ice.

These kits can be used on any type of vessel in the event of hull damage and are routinely carried aboard all NCA patrol boats so they can provide practical assistance in an emergency.

NCA coastal patrol boats have been equipped with kits of Miko patches for a number of years. During this time they have been used to prevent the sinking or capsize of a significant number of vessels in Norwegian waters.

Some notable examples include the occasion in 2010 when a magnetic patch was used to secure a leak in a nuclear fuel carrier. A magnetic patch provided by a NCA patrol boat sealed the leak and enabled the ship to be escorted into port for permanent repair.

Miko magnetic patches are generally used for smaller and less complicated sealing emergencies while the non-magnetic Kevlar-reinforced fabric patches are used for closing-off larger and more complex instances of hull damage.

If required, either type of patch can be manufactured and supplied in any size up to 50m x 10m. This makes them a fast and reliable means of sealing hull damage that can be used as a quicker and more practical alternative to welding when re-floating a damaged vessel.

By Anne-Marie Causer