Fire-retardant composite panel for shipbuilding

Save weight, increase safety: Fire-retardant composite panel revolutionizes shipbuilding

Fiber-reinforced composites are rarely used in cruise ships or merchant vessels for fire safety reasons. Saertex has now developed a fire-retardant standard panel and, in collaboration with the Meyer Group, has constructed the sun deck and outer walls of a river cruise ship using a sandwich construction that saves 45% of the weight. The use of fiber-reinforced plastics (FRP) has been standard in boat building for many years. However, these materials are still rarely used in large ships such as cruise ships or merchant ships, even though the use of composite materials would offer many advantages in terms of energy savings, fire safety, design freedom, and maintenance. In a research and development project, Saertex, in collaboration with the Meyer Group, has succeeded in replacing steel and aluminum in shipbuilding with composite materials...