MARINE GROUNDING SYSTEMS

TIMM’S MARINE GROUNDING SYSTEM SEK-3

Best practice by monitoring of compensation current

Loading and unloading of oil and chemical tankers with petroleum products and inflammable liquids can create a hazardous environment. Due to the potential difference between tanker and pier (among others, by galvanic processes), sparking can occur at the connecting points of loading hoses, loading arms or other conductive equipment.

To reduce this risk of energy stored in inductances, an effective equipotential bonding should be considered as additional safety measure.

Functional Principle:

SEK-3 establishes a monitored equipotential bonding of very low resistance between ship and pier which counteracts the physical effect of electrical potential difference. This explosion protection measure prevents uncontrolled sparking when handling conductive elements at the terminal.

In addition, the SEK-3 signals unsafe situations (such as over-voltage or over-current caused by active sources) by flashing LEDs and switching off the corresponding control outputs.

Application Areas:

SEK-3 is installed at piers for sea tankers and inland vessels. The clamp, with cable of up to 30m in length, has to be attached to a flat metallic point on the ship with good electrical connection to the hull.

The whole system is approved for hazardous areas of zone 1 and gas group IIB according to the European Explosion Prevention Directive 2014/34/EU (ATEX) and the international standard IECEx as well as designed in accordance to best practice recommendations.

Benefits:

• Very low-ohmic measure line, specifically for maritime application
• 2 clearly visible LEDs on device front
• Easy check of a proper grounding connection due to additional status LEDs at the grounding clamp
• Easy-to-understand error diagnosis system inside the housing
• Opening the housing under voltage is permissible - thanks to Intelligent Explosion Protection Concept (IEPC)
• Highest safety levels in hazardous areas
• Leading technology in monitoring, diagnostics and configuration
• Easy to operate through ability to open housing in hazardous areas

Technical Specifications:

• Type of protection according to ATEX 2014/34/EU:
  II 2 G - Ex eb ib q [ib] IIB T4 Gb (SEK-3)
  II 2 G - Ex eb ib IIB T4 Gb (Clamp SKS-4A)
• Power supply:
  110, 120, 220, 230 V ± 10 %, 50-60 Hz, approx. 15 VA
• Control outputs:
  2 relay contacts
  2 change-over contacts | 2 NAMUR-outputs
• Operating temperature: - 40°C up to + 60°C
• Approvals: ATEX, IECEx