Nixy, as an engineer, you should know this already. Rust is a chemical residue left by the reaction between iron and oxygen called iron oxide, facilitated by some solvents and salts. It can't grow without access to oxygen. Paint is usually used to seal steel, but thin points, corrosion by salts, and even scratches and such will provide entry points. Rust doesn't cause more rust. But the conditions that allowed the first rust to form ensure that more will follow if it's not corrected. Chemicals like naval jelly (gelled phosphoric acid) eat iron oxide, turning it to iron phosphate, which can be scrubbed off with a pot scrubber, but has no effect on straight steel. Products like POR15 are designed to adhere well to a rusty surface and prevent allowing anything to get under it. Then you have rust neutralizers which convert iron oxide to a more stable form such as ferrosoferric oxide, which retains it's strength and helps seal the iron's surface. But they all come down to the same thing: providing a seal between the metal and the salt water.