Marine Coatings Market
Increasing fuel efficiency through the use of innovative
antifouling coatings is a key issue for ship owners and operators
BY KERRY PIANOFORTE
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
As fuel prices continue to rise, with no relief in
sight, increasing fuel efficiency is a key issue
for ship owners and operators. While marine
coatings are most often credited with providing protection from corrosion due to weathering and fouling
from barnacles and other organisms, they are also
crucial components in increasing a vessel’s fuel efficiency and environmental impact.
“With an estimated 300 million tons of fuel consumed
annually by the world’s fleet, there is an ever increasing
focus on shipping’s environmental footprint,” said Jim
Brown, marketing operations manager, worldwide
marine, International Paint. “At this level of consumption
the industry currently emits some 960 million tons of
CO2 and nine million tons of SO2 annually. The
International Maritime Organization (IMO) estimates
that without corrective action and the introduction of
new technologies, air emissions, due to increased bunker
fuel consumption by the world shipping fleet, could
increase by between 38% and 72% by 2020.”
Antifouling coatings are one way to increase fuel efficiency. “Antifouling coatings are used to improve the
speed and efficiency of ships by preventing organisms
such as barnacles and weeds from sticking to the underwater hull, restricting the ship’s movement through the
water,” said Brown. According to Brown, if ships didn’t
use antifouling coatings, fuel consumption could be
increased by as much as 40%—with current fuel use consequently rising by 120 million tons per year to a total of
420 million tons per year. “It is estimated that antifouling coatings provide the shipping industry with annual
fuel savings of $60 billion and reduced emissions of 384
million tons and 3. 6 million tons respectively for CO2 and
SO2 annually,” he added.
Growth in the marine coatings market can be also be
attributed to a surge in new building in the Asia-Pacific
region, as well as high demand for exported goods from
the region.
“The general high demand for freight of goods from
Asia to Europe and the U.S., as well as raw materials
like iron and coal into China, has led to a significant
increase in new buildings, which again leads to a high
demand for marine coatings,” said Morten Eikenes,
group category manager antifoulings, Jotun Coatings.
“Northeast Asia is the fastest growing market these
days. The yards in South Korea have proven to be high-
