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
consumptioncould be increased by as much as 40%—with current fuel use consequently rising by 120million 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 highly effective in new buildings. China is up and coming with a tremendous growth in new buildings and demands for marine coatings. As an example of the high new building activity in China, Jotun recently signed a contract for 80 new buildings which is the largest contract every for Jotun.”
On the pleasure craft front, growth has been less robust. “In the yacht coatings market in general we are basically flat and stable,” said Robert Donat, vice president marketing–North America, Interlux Yacht Finishes. “The area where there is growth is in the super-yacht business. There seems to be no shortage in demand for super-yachts.”
“Growth for us is in the primers and topcoats because these types of yachts require a lot of finishing,” Donat continued. “The rest of the pleasure boat market—10 to 100 feet—is stable to flat. New boat ownership is down and roughly 70% of the boats sold in the U.S. are used. Boat builders are holding off. The downturn in the economy has certainly trickled down to the yacht business.”
Copper prices continue to rise
Raising copper prices have continued to put pressure on marine coatings manufacturers. “The high increase in copper prices the last year has somewhat increased the prices for the customers as well as reduced the margins, especially for the upper segment of the premium products,” said Eikenes.
“Unfortunately, the drop in copper prices observed in the last half of 2006 was only temporary and in 2007 copper prices continued their rise at the same average rate since 2003,” said Brown. “Demand for copper is still strong, especially in China, which has seen a nine percent increase in demand during 2007, with a further 11% increase forecast for 2008. Despite China heavily investing in local copper mines, global supply is not increasing significantly and, due to strike action at various mines, demand is likely to remain high.”
During 2007, International stopped surcharging and added $2.50 onto the selling price of its products. “In February 2008, copper jumped to its highest price since May 2006,” said Brown. “Future antifouling price rises remain a possibility if the current trend of rising copper costs continues.”
“The cost of copper has had a major effect on the market by driving and increasing the cost of antifoulings significantly,” agreed Donat. “It has raised our price by at least 15%. Our overall objective is to lead in technology and be environmentally responsible. Because of the increase in copper, we are doing what we can to meet the needs of the boat owner from a performance perspective and a cost perspective.”
IMO Treaty takes effect
One of the most significant developments in the marine coatings market over the last few years has been the IMO’s ban, which went into effect January 2008, on organo tin tributyltin (TBT) compounds.
“The five global antifouling suppliers voluntarily agreed to phase out TBT-containing products from January 1, 2003, although the IMO restrictions were not legally entered into force,” said Eikenes. “Since then Jotun has focused on TBT-free antifouling paints. Today the only things that affect us from the IMO antifouling treaty are the cost and bureaucracy related to Class Societies requirement for certificates stating that our products are TBT-free. More significantly is the high cost related to the EU Biocidal Products Directive. Customers docking in Europe must be prepared for higher costs of antifoulings compared to markets outside the EU.”
Jotun phased out all TBT containing antifouling paints by the end of 2002. “The replacement products, SeaQuantum series, are performing well thanks to a superior silyl-acrylate binder system,” said Eikenes. “Our customers’ awareness of the superior performance of the SeaQuantum series are now well 
established.”
“IMO has affected the market in a positive way by forcing the market to stop selling tin-based paint,” said Donat. “International Paint made a decision back in 2002, before the treaty came onto effect, to stop manufacturing and selling tin-based coatings. The positive for us is we recognized that this global ban was coming and developed technology that works the same or better and have been selling this technology since 2002.”
Sourse: Coatings World Article : Kerry Pianoforte
B-LIGHT will be the latest new product that Boero launches into its Yachtcoatings range. The fluorescent paint will obviously collect light during the day and gives of this light with a stunning effect during the night.
With the International Maritime Organization’s TBT antifouling treaty set to take effect Jan. 2008, along with the continuing surge of copper prices, marine paint makers and their raw material suppliers are adapting to meet these demands. With little time left to come up with new solutions to replace the TBT all eyes are focussed on copper.
