Page 45: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (January 2021)

COATINGS & CORROSION CONTROL tion of a 249-ship sample that spanned fuel consumption demand compared to icantly more damaged than other areas most cargo ship types while in dry dock, biofouling accumulation on the ? at sides on the hull underwater surface. suggests that if strict mandatory hull and bottom of a hull, it still poses a great However, there are a handful of steps fouling limits were introduced now, risk of spreading invasive aquatic spe- that ship owners can take to address this most vessels in the global ? eet could cies and breaching legislation intended collective blind-spot. be in breach just by niche area fouling to protect biodiversity in these areas. For example, when discussing coating alone. Although the data is dif? cult to As well as environmental, there are speci? cation with the shipyard, own- obtain, niche areas, such as, sea chests, operational and ef? ciency risks that ers can opt for an antifouling coating thrusters and gratings could account for come with heavy niche area fouling. For with a higher polishing rate for use in as much as 10% [1] of the total under- example, if a sea chest for a box cool- niche areas to support improved per- water hull surface of the global shipping er is obstructed by dense hard fouling, formance in low-water ? ow conditions. ? eet. the heat exchange capacity is reduced, Furthermore, owners can specify addi-

In the latest white paper that we have which result in greater energy require- tional coats be applied in niche areas to published that focusses speci? cally on ments to run the cooling system. Worse increase the concentration and ef? cacy the scale of niche area biofouling across still, critical hardware units may un- of the antifouling coating. As these ar- the global ? eet, it is apparent that niche dergo a complete failure with obstructed eas are dif? cult to coat, also special at- areas are a particular challenge for the water inlets in the hull. tention should be spent for the surface shipping industry and are a collective Niche areas represent a particular preparation and the quality of the paint ‘blind spot’. challenge for the ef? cacy of antifouling application. Also, certain technologies

As well as ? nding unacceptable levels coatings. With reduced water ? ow over can protect niche areas from hard foul- of hard fouling coverage on the verti- niche area surfaces, there is a signi? cant ing accumulation, even in low water cal sides and ? at bottom areas of the reduction in the effectiveness of many ? ow conditions. This includes I-Tech’s ship hulls inspected across 44% of the coating products. Furthermore, the antifouling ingredient technology Sele- 249-vessel sample, heavy animal foul- shape of niche areas make them an awk- ktope®, which acts in very low concen- ing (barnacles and other shelled organ- ward area to apply coatings effectively trations to repel, with non-killing effect, isms) was found in the niche areas of in the shipyard or dry dock, thus dimin- approaching barnacle larvae looking to 95% of inspected vessels. ishing antifouling effectiveness before set up their permanent home. As such,

While biofouling in niche areas may the paint is even dry. Furthermore, the there are now antifouling coatings on not contribute a signi? cant amount to shape and protrusions within niche ar- the market which offer superior protec- excess carbon emissions from increased eas means that coatings are often signif- tion of niche areas thanks to Selektope.

The Author

References

A [1] Moser, C.S., Wier, T.P., First, M.R. et al. Quantifying

Hoffmann the extent of niche areas in the global ? eet of com-

Markus joined I-Tech in 2019 after roles at Hempel’s Anti- mercial ships: the potential for “super-hot spots” of biofouling. Biol Invasions 19, 1745–1759 (2017). fouling Global Center of Excellence and BASF. He holds a https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-017-1386-4

PhD in organic chemistry from Julius-Maximilians-Univer- sität, Germany.

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