Tank Storage

Confined-Space Blasting Increases Exposure Fast

Tank work concentrates risk. Confined space controls, restricted access, and long shifts increase exposure to dust, noise, heat stress, and manual handling. Add scaffolding, hoses, and abrasive logistics, and the work area becomes harder to control.

For owners, incidents threaten outage schedules, compliance, and reputation. For contractors, safety events can stop work, trigger investigations, and increase insurance and labor costs while damaging future award chances.

Dust Buildup Disrupts Work and Drives Stricter Controls

Dry abrasive blasting can create dust levels that reduce visibility, expand exclusion zones, and restrict other tasks from happening nearby. Dust migration also raises concern for nearby assets, instruments, and operational areas.

Owners feel it through stricter permit conditions, disrupted site activity, and HSE escalation. Contractors lose productive hours, face frequent stops, and see higher risk of failed cleanliness checks due to residual dust.

Real Nozzle Power Drops Before Anyone Notices

Output drops fast when air is not stable, hoses are mismatched, moisture enters the system, or abrasive choice is not optimized for the coating and profile target. Access challenges on floors, annular plates, and shells add more slowdowns.

Owners pay for it through longer outages and compressed coating time. Contractors feel it as rising labor hours per square meter, overtime pressure, and a higher chance of missing milestones tied to payment terms.

When Blasting Slips, Turnaround Dates Slip With It

When blasting falls behind, everything behind it stacks up. Inspection windows get squeezed, coating crews wait, and cure schedules slide, often pushing restart dates. The final days then get consumed by recovery, cleanup, touch-ups, and punch-list work.

For owners, delayed return-to-service affects throughput and planning across the site. For contractors, schedule slip creates clashes with the next job, resource conflicts, and increased commercial exposure.

Fewer expert blasters means more variability per shift

The industry relies on a limited number of highly capable blasters who can consistently hit cleanliness and profile requirements under real site conditions. When availability is tight, performance becomes uneven across crews and shifts.

Owners see the impact in variable quality and more rework risk. Contractors face higher wage pressure, longer onboarding cycles, and inconsistent output that makes it harder to commit to aggressive schedules.

Shrunken Margins

Tank outages are priced tightly, while real-world disruptions are common. Downtime from permits, access constraints, inspection holds, and equipment issues quickly turns a planned job into an unplanned cost center.

Owners feel this when fewer qualified contractors bid, or bids include risk premiums. Contractors feel it directly through eroding profitability, cashflow pressure, and reduced ability to invest in better methods and equipment.

Inconisstant Surface Profiles

Profile consistency is difficult across large areas, curved shells, welds, and repaired sections. Abrasive selection, nozzle condition, stand-off distance, and operator technique all influence the result. When profile varies, coating performance becomes less predictable.

Owners face higher risk of early coating failure, corrosion return, and warranty disputes. Contractors face more inspection findings, spot reblasting, and costly touch-up cycles that slow progress and inflate labor hours.

High Cleanup and Waste Disposal Costs

Spent abrasive recovery and disposal can quietly become one of the most expensive parts of the scope, especially when access is constrained or recovery is not built into the workflow. Cleanup time also competes with coating time near the end of the outage.

Owners see extended downtime and more site disruption. Contractors face extra equipment hours, labor for handling and transport, and disposal costs that reduce margin and limit the ability to scale across multiple tanks.

VertiDrive Blasting Robots

VertiDrive robotic systems automate abrasive blasting on large tank walls and steel structures.

By maintaining consistent nozzle distance, travel speed, and overlap, robots deliver stable production and uniform surface preparation across thousands of square meters while keeping operators safely on the ground.

High-performance BlastOne blasting equipment for storage tank surface preparation

BlastOne MegaBlaster™ bulk abrasive systems and AirPrep™ air drying units.

MegaBlasters support long, uninterrupted blasting cycles and multiple blast outlets, reducing downtime caused by refilling.

AirPrep™ systems remove moisture from compressed air, preventing abrasive clogs and pressure loss in humid dockside environments. Together, these systems deliver stable pressure, continuous production, and predictable output across large ship hulls and steel structures.

Up to 3000 bar with controlled waste recovery

We provide ultra-high-pressure waterjetting systems up to 3000 bar at 45 L/min for removing coatings, linings, and corrosion inside storage tank’s shells and floors and outer shells.

Available in open or enclosed configurations with integrated vacuum recovery to capture water and debris while maintaining environmental compliance.

Proven storage tank surface preparation expertise

Our experts support terminal operators and contractors with abrasive selection, air supply calculations, hose layout design, nozzle selection, and air and blast hose sizing. This ensures the blasting system is properly matched and performs consistently while complying with industrial coating standards.

We help ensure surface preparation meets specification for tank floors, internal and external tank shells, and critical corrosion protection areas.

Training and onsite support that maximize performance

Even the best blasting equipment and robotic setups only perform as well as the people operating them. We provide hands-on training and onsite support that turn your operators into true super users.

A properly trained VertiDrive operator can achieve up to 30% higher production compared to operators with none or basic training on optimized robotic blasting systems, ensuring safer operation, higher output, and consistent results.

Reliable technical support throughout the project lifecycle

From initial setup and commissioning to operator training and technical troubleshooting, we support tank terminal projects remote and on-site with responsive service and performance guidance to keep maintenance shutdowns on schedule.