Subsea Industries’ investment in R&D has resulted in a coating that reduces fuel consumption by 40% and keeps seas completely clean (photo: Subsea Industries)

Subsea Industries has solved the cardinal problems companies are faced with when trying to square optimum hull performance with effective, environmentally-safe ship hull protection.

Marking a breakthrough in the competitive coatings market, the Antwerp-based pioneer in non-toxic, environmentally-sustainable coatings, has optimised its Ecospeed range of hard coat marine coatings to reduce hull friction by up to 40%, resulting in a comparable percentage saving in fuel consumption.

Subsea Industries now has more than 500 ship references for its marine hard coating technology.

Manuel Hof, Production Executive and NACE Coatings Inspector at Subsea Industries, says, “We have cracked a number of really important problems with one simple, highly cost-effective approach to hull antifouling. Not only have we optimised hull surface roughness, thus drag, resulting in fuel savings in the 20-40% range, we have solved the corrosion and cavitation erosion problems that often beset other marine coating systems. We have also halted completely the ship-to-sea emissions of volatile organic compounds and other harmful toxins common in conventional hull coatings, such as copper and dibutyltin dilaurate.”

By optimising surface roughness to its absolutely attainable optimum limits without future deterioration or degradation, Subsea Industries considers the age-old problem of hull surface friction solved – something that even silicon-based systems cannot fully achieve.

“The Ecospeed range of coatings has a dimpled effect on application which is scientifically proven to improve hydrodynamic efficiency. However, while other coating systems degrade overtime, resulting in increased fouling, regular hull cleaning improves the coating’s performance, creating a smoother finish, resulting in significant continuous improvements to operational performance. In contrast with traditional antifouling compounds that rapidly degrade in time, our coatings last, hence the performance of the ship does not degrade either. While Ecospeed hulls need to be cleaned regularly, the cost of in-situ underwater cleaning dwarfs the high expenditure incurred with regular drydockings and recoats and this can be recouped from the fuel savings gained,” says Hof.

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