Walkers Colombo Shipyard clinch work at Minneriya

By P.D. De Silva

Walkers Colombo Shipyard (WCS) have diversified from their regular trade of ship building and ship repair and clinched a Pre Heating (PH) and Post Weld Heat Treatment (PWHT) job at Nipuna Rice Products Ltd.’s new rice mill being constructed at Minneriya.

PH and PWHT is a key procedure to ensure the integrity and strength of welded joints which connect the array of piping that span throughout the mill. The pipes are under constant stress as they carry steam at high pressure and to withstand such conditions, Alloy steel pipes (Gr. P11, P22, P91) need to be welded and heat treated conforming to specific standards to improve the toughness and ductility.

Walkers Colombo Shipyard was Nipuna Rice Products’ choice from among the few Sri Lankan companies that are capable of carrying out the process.

A spokesman for Walkers Shipyard said that the job would take approximately 50 days to complete. He added that the technicians were adhering to the Government›s health guidelines.