Page 51: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (February 2026)

MARINE COATINGS tifouling performance from theoretical ? lm thickness consistency and surface

From Claims to bene? t to documented outcome. smoothness are equally critical. Over

Veri? cation the past year, PPG has demonstrated

Few metrics matter more to operators

Silicone Tech Expands how application technology itself can than speed and ef? ciency loss. Histori-

Silicone fouling-release coatings have become a differentiator.

cally, antifouling performance has been long been associated with premium per- PPG recently completed its 100th described in general terms, fuel sav- ings, smoothness, fouling resistance, formance, but their adoption has been drydocking using electrostatic coating often without standardized proof. That constrained by application challenges. application for marine hulls. Borrowed

Controlled environments, strict curing from automotive and aerospace sectors, is changing.

requirements and post-delivery applica- the technique electrically charges paint

Chugoku Marine Paints (CMP) has introduced SEAFLO NEO SL ZX, an tion windows have limited their use, par- particles and draws them uniformly to ultra-low friction antifouling based on ticularly in the newbuild phase. Hempel the grounded steel hull. Compared with advanced silyl methacrylate chemistry. completed the ? rst ever applications of conventional airless spraying, electro-

Building on earlier SEAFLO NEO SL its next-generation silicone hull coating, static application signi? cantly improves variants, the new formulation targets Hempaguard NB, with one of the new- transfer ef? ciency, reduces overspray sustained hydrodynamic performance building vessels being Tangier Maersk - and creates an exceptionally smooth, over a full ? ve-year service interval. the ? rst in a new series of six 9,000 TEU uniform ? lm.

vessels ordered by Maersk. Applied at To support the method, PPG devel-

The technical emphasis is not on ini-

Yangzijiang Shipyard (YZJ) in China in oped coatings speci? cally formulated tial smoothness alone, but on maintain- ing low average speed loss over time, October 2025. for electrostatic application, including

The successful application is viewed PPG Nexeon 810 antifouling and PPG aligned with ISO 19030 measurement methodology. CMP’s approach re? ects as a signi? cant achievement for Hem- Sigmaglide 2390 fouling-release coat- pel, Maersk and YZJ. Building on the ing. The combination of low-friction a growing recognition that average per- formance, not best-case performance strong results achieved during the proj- chemistry and precision application di- immediately after drydock, is what ect, additional vessels under the same rectly contributes to reduced hull rough- determines real fuel consumption, CII contract are scheduled to be coated ness, improved fuel ef? ciency and lower with Hempaguard NB during 2026. Ole greenhouse gas emissions—while also scores and voyage economics. By re-

Graa Jakobsen, Head of Fleet Tech- delivering a cleaner, safer working en- ducing long-term speed loss, the coating directly in? uences fuel burn, emissions nology at Maersk said: “As fuel ef? - vironment in drydock.

ciency remains one of our top priorities, intensity and schedule reliability, partic-

Biocide-Free Coatings ularly for globally trading vessels with we are continuously re? ning coating so- lutions on our vessels to ensure optimal Environmental performance is no varied operating pro? les.

A similar emphasis on independently hydrodynamic performance." longer a niche concern. Regulatory pressure, customer scrutiny and cor- veri? ed performance underpins Jotun’s

Application Innovation porate decarbonization targets are

SeaQuantum X200 antifouling. The

Coating performance does not depend pushing biocide-free technologies into coating has achieved DNV veri? cation of an average speed loss of just 1.0% solely on chemistry. Application quality, mainstream consideration.

over a dock-to-dock period, measured in accordance with ISO 19030. This compares with an industry baseline of approximately 5.9% average speed loss.

From a technical standpoint, that dif- ference is substantial. Using the stan- dard 3:1 relationship between speed loss and hydrodynamic ef? ciency, SeaQuan- tum X200 translates to roughly 14–15% lower fuel consumption versus the in- dustry average. The signi? cance lies not only in the performance itself, but in the fact that it has been validated across a ? eet of 41 vessels operating under nor- mal commercial conditions, moving an- www.marinelink.com 51

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