Jotun Goes Tin-Free

According to Stein Kj0lberg, marketing manager for marine products at Jotun Paints, "The launch of SeaQuantum heralds a breakthrough in tin-free antifouling systems: Jotun's new coating has undergone extensive testing and offers up to five years of effective protection against fouling on ship bottoms." Developed in conjunction with Japanese chemicals group Nippon Oil and Fats (NOF), Jotun has reportedly uncov- ered a practical tin-free solution suitable for virtually any application.

Although tin-free alternatives have been on the market for quite some time, none have proven to go the distance in meeting the shipping sector's need for five-year systems. Lasting only three years instead of the required five, most of these substitute systems still cannot offer the same self-polishing effect posted by tin-based coatings. Contrastingly, the self-polishing aspect is present in SeaQuantum — holding properties that bear chemical and physical properties - that are almost uncanny to tin-based antifouling coatings. In translation, the product blends protection against fouling with a hydrolysis reaction, making the vessel's bottom increasingly smooth as the coating wears — creating a more efficient vessel. The company recommends the product be applied to both newbuilds and full bottom upgrades.

Undergoing a little less than seven years of trials, the new coating from Jotun. according to Kj0lberg is "the most tin-free marine antifouling system on the market today." Jotun has basked in a product and research venture with NOF for many years. With Jotun developing the formulation for the actual coating, NOF spearheaded a silyl polymer that can replace the environmentally-dangerous tin compounds used in today's self-polishing antifouling coatings.

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