Coatings World - May 2012

put forth aggressive pricing. We have taken a very competitive pricing stance versus other coatings such as conventional phenolic epoxy cargo tank coatings, while providing a superior product. This is particularly important in the refurbishing market as older product tankers come to dry dock to be retrofitted, including replacing and or upgrading their tank coatings.”

High quality, energy saving products

Reducing solvents and energy savings are two important trends
driving the global marine coatings market. According to Dickey,
ultra high solids coatings designed for seawater ballast tanks are
gaining in popularity. They are nearing 100 percent solids and
there is a very small amount of solvent content. “They eliminates
solvent retention so the coatings are higher quality and don’t fail
as quickly,” Dickey said. “Energy savings underwater hull sys-
tems are another trend. Particularly, these coatings can provide
energy savings on vessels via lower emissions levels and/or lower
operating costs.”
The latest offerings from Sherwin-Williams include FastClad
ER and Euronavy ES301.

FastClad ER is a 100 percent solids epoxy amine coating for
immersion service in seawater ballast tanks. It has been reported
that it has an extremely rapid return to service, low VOC levels
and good edge retention. The U.S. Navy has used this product for
eight years
Euronavy ES301 can be applied with no dew point restric-
tions over damp steel surfaces and over flash-rust, reducing ap-
plication time and costs. Coating can occur immediately after
using ultra-high pressure (UHP) water jetting (also known as hy-
droblasting) or other water preparation methods without dry-
ing. Euronavy ES301 also features good edge retention, low
VOC and is HAPS-free.

Advanced Polymer Coatings continues to offer the MarineLine coating system, but are now taking this into newer areas such as the larger, growing product tanker market, while still maintaining a strong presence in serving chemical tankers.

According to Keehan, chartering segments, such as biofuels,
are enjoying growth. “In this area, growing at an estimated 15
percent annually, ship owners want to get into this market, but
they are concerned with carrying biofuels due to the corrosive
nature of the cargoes and their detrimental effect and breakdown
of a conventional tank coating or the corrosion that occurs in a
stainless steel tank,” he said. “MarineLine’s unique corrosion-
resistant coating provides a tightly-knit polymer-based structure
that can easily handle biofuels.”
In news outside APC’s traditional work on cargo tank coat-
ings, as this issue went to press, the company signed a letter of
intent with Reactive Surfaces in Austin, Texas to combine tech-
nologies in a joint venture to develop exterior marine coatings
functionalized with bio-based additives for submersed hull sur-
faces and stationary structures (see side bar).

“We hope in the years ahead to take advantage of the growing ‘green’ trend for non-toxic, low drag underwater vessel surfaces by introducing bio-based functionality into coatings using natural biomaterials, such as proteins and peptides,” said Keehan. CW

Advanced Polymer Coatings And Reactive
Surfaces Team Up For Marine Coatings Joint
Venture

Advanced Polymer Coatings (APC) and Reactive Surfaces have agreed to combine the marine coatings technology of Advanced Polymer Coatings with the surface-modifying additive technology of Reactive Surfaces in order to offer an environmentally benign, bio-based, functional marine coating to the maritime industry.

This line of marine coatings is designed to meet or exceed efficacy of current marine coatings. The companies are gearing up to take advantage of the rapidly growing, worldwide drive toward non-toxic, low drag underwater vessel surfaces with a goal of increasing “slip” through the water by at least two percent over traditional coatings.

APC is a provider of coatings for marine superstructure and tank coatings, including its ChemLine and MarineLine coatings, and with this venture will expand its lines into marine coatings for submersed surfaces. Reactive Surfaces develops bio-based additives designed to bring long-term, stable functionality to coated surfaces, including its self-de-greasing additive DeGreez, self-decontaminating additive OPDtox and antimicrobial additive ProteCoat.

Testing will be accomplished using a number of different bio-based additives in a variety of polymer systems in different marine environments, simulating both stationary structures and underway surfaces, and culminating within twelve months with on-ship testing.

The companies will be taking advantage of one of the most recent advancements in coatings technology that adds significantly to the traditional role of a coatings system— bio-based functionality. Natural biomaterials, such as proteins and peptides, provide an enormous resource of functional additives that are non-persistent in the environment, non-toxic and renewable. By focusing on the unique and specific properties of these biomolecules, bio-based additives are being created which will provide a new and innovative function to marine coatings systems, including “recharge-ability” (changing or renewing functionality, without recoating).