Inernational Paint Sees Significant Uptake in New Fouling Control Technologies

International Paint announced that its two latest hull-coating technologies have already made a significant impact on the market within months of their launch in March. Designed to address the industry issues of predictability in antifouling performance not seen since the days of tributyltin and the difficult issue of slime fouling on ships hulls, the two new technologies – Intercept 8000 LPP and Intersleek 1100SR – were launched to improve vessel operating performance, increase efficiency and reduce fuel costs and emissions.
Since March 2013, Intersleek 1100SR has been applied to 52 vessels with 45 contracted and 27 under negotiation across all main classes, including container, cruise, LNG, Ro-Ro, and tanker vessels. Intercept®8000 LPP has been applied to 44 vessels with 10 contracted and a further 32 currently in the pipeline, and has seen significant take-up with containers, proving the expectation that this is aimed at being the most eco-efficient product for this class.

Paul Robbins, marine marketing director at International Paint said: “The popularity of Intercept 8000 LPP and Intersleek 1100SR so soon after their launch reflects the growing awareness of the economic importance of underwater hull condition, driven by sustained high bunker prices, lack of liquidity in the market and increasing environmental regulation.

“Using innovation to meet these challenges, as well as the drive to create more sustainable operations is rapidly becoming a strategic priority for businesses. It is also clear that customers want access to a choice of products, and a broad range of fouling control solutions that provide increasing and scalable levels of eco-efficiency benefits depending on their budgets and commitment to sustainability.

“Advanced hull coatings are the most widely used eco-efficiency technology within the shipping industry.
And as a market leader, it is our mission to introduce new innovations and technologies that drive operational, cost and environmental efficiencies for our customers and help guide them through the sustainability cycle.”

Intercept 8000 LPP is a new patented biocidal antifouling revolutionising predictability in hull coating performance and Intersleek 1100SR is the industry’s first patented biocide free slime release technology, helping solving the market’s $28.6 billion ‘slime challenge.’

Based on  LUBYON technology, Intercept®8000 LPP, provides customers with consistent and predictable linear polishing, enabling ship owners and operators to plan and budget effectively throughout the dry-dock cycle of the vessel.

The unique LUBYON technology gives the coating a ‘superhydrophilic’ surface. When the coating is immersed, the seawater has a lubricating effect, resulting in less friction. This reduces drag and increases vessel efficiency giving average fuel consumption and associated emissions savings of 5 percent annually compared to typical controlled depletion polymer antifoulings. The coating also swells on contact with seawater, helping to smooth out imperfections and potentially further reducing drag.

LUBYON  technology also reacts with seawater via a constant active zone releasing only the optimum amount of biocide over the scheme life to control fouling settlement. Critically, this biocide release rate is largely unaffected by seawater temperature meaning Intercept 8000 LPP has total trading flexibility and can operate across global trading routes and through all seasons. Unlike typical silyl and metal acrylate antifoulings Intercept 8000LPP replicates the linear polishing of the benchmark tributyltin based coatings meaning total predictability with the polishing rate remaining constant throughout the in service period.
Designed for the deep-sea market at newbuilding and maintenance and repair, the coating has been extensively monitored with in service performance validated on multiple vessel types including containers, tankers, bulk carriers and LNGs representing over 4 million dwt.

In March 2013, International Paint also launched Intersleek1100SR, the shipping industry’s first biocide free, fluoropolymer technology that tackles the market’s age-old ‘slime challenge’. Slime, a complex, varied and dynamic organism which begins to colonise surfaces as soon as they enter the water, has been proven to have an adverse effect on the efficiency of all vessel types.

According to a recent formula produced by Michael P. Schultz, Professor, Department of Naval Architecture & Ocean Engineering, US Naval Academy, at today’s bunker prices, the effects of slime potentially costs the shipping industry 44 million extra tonnes of bunker fuel, $28.6 billion in additional fuel costs and an extra 134 million tonnes of CO2 emissions every year.

Designed for all commercial vessels even when slow or ultra slow steaming, new Intersleek 1100SR slime release technology delivers outstanding macro and micro fouling control with good static resistance even in warm waters. Slime that can build up during static periods is released by the movement of the vessel through water. This has been achieved by the new patented fluoropolymer in Intersleek 1100SR which has been developed by enhancing the slime resistant polymer groups used in earlier generations of Intersleek technology creating new surface chemistry that specifically resists the adhesion of slime.

The technology is the culmination of comprehensive research to understand slime growth. The development of the new polymer included a three year fundamental research programme involving a multi-discipline team of marine biologists, hydrodynamicists and polymer scientists. The team was supported by world renowned independent academic institutes, four years of laboratory testing and in service, full vessel performance data, from some of the world’s leading ship owners and operators.