With this in mind, PPG has recently launched SIGMA ECOFLEET 690 coating, an antifouling product designed to deliver excellent self-polishing antifouling for extremely hostile fouling conditions.
Ideally suited to the economic challenges of the maintenance and repair market, the coating provides outstanding fouling control for service periods of up to 60 months, the company claimed.
According to Sijmen Visser, global marketing Manager M&R, PPG Protective and Marine Coatings, the SIGMA ECOFLEET 690 antifouling delivers proven, reliable performance in highly aggressive conditions on a wide range of vessel types including tankers and is also applicable for slow steaming vessels.
Visser said: “Because it is easy to apply at high-film builds, the SIGMA ECOFLEET 690 antifouling increases productivity and along with extended fouling control periods, reduces overall maintenance costs. Pipe-laying vessels in particular suffer from intense fouling pressures resulting from the operational profile at low speeds. Such vessels require specific antifouling formulations that can cope with the most destructive fouling levels.”
Allseas Group recently chose SIGMA ECOFLEET 690 antifouling for its vessel Allseas Solitaire, which is the world’s largest pipe-laying vessel, capable of installing hundreds of kilometres of pipeline in a single year, achieving pipe-laying speeds in excess of 9 km (5.6 miles) per day.
Visser said that the decision by Allseas was based on that fact that the product offers a number of clear advantages over similar antifoulings in terms of its effectiveness as a faster polishing coating.
He said: “The SIGMA ECOFLEET 690 coating produces constant, high-activity antifouling performance for vessels such as the Solitaire and is both resilient and reliable and able to cope with the most intense fouling conditions.
“In the case of the Solitaire, the entire underwater hull was coated with the SIGMA ECOFLEET 690 product, which delivered superb fouling-free performance with extended fouling control periods, resulting in reduced maintenance and greater profitability.
“Allseas can now be confident that the Solitaire has one of the market’s leading solutions for combating fouling species, wherever in the world it operates,” he said. Indeed, such has been the success of PPG’s new product that it has become the antifouling of choice for coastal- and low-activity vessels and now sets the industry standard for high film build with 70% volume solids, the company said.
Copper-free offering
In addition, the company announced last December that it had introduced the latest coating in the copper-free SIGMA NEXEON antifouling range, which was designed to provide superior fouling protection and meet future environmental standards.
PPG claimed to be the first coatings manufacturer to successfully develop and market a range of copper-free antifoulings for commercial vessels to help customers stay ahead of future regulation. The SIGMA NEXEON range was developed based on extensive research and testing at PPG’s own facilities, as well as third party studies.
Visser explained; “At PPG, we are constantly looking for ways to anticipate and evaluate the impact of future trends and legislation. Regulations around the use of copper in antifoulings are the ones to watch and, as a result, we have decided to offer now the option to our customers to prepare for this future scenario.”
In this range, SIGMA NEXEON 710 is the antifouling solution for operational vessels and can be applied during construction and also at drydockings. For newbuildings where outfitting takes longer than six months, a high activity copper-free topcoat antifouling, SIGMA NEXEON 750 is specified.
Both products combine self-polishing zincacrylate binder technology with high performance to help protect ships during the newbuilding process and while in service. A benefit of this copper-free antifouling is its property of ‘smoothness from start’.
Thanks to the absence of copper, the levelling and smoothness right after application is significantly improved, delivering better fuel efficiency from the start, the company claimed.
Third party testing with leading universities and test institutes in South Korea and Japan has confirmed the properties and performance of the antifouling series. From these studies, PPG classified SIGMA NEXEON as a ‘low friction antifouling’.
Cosmetic
Another benefit claimed is the excellent cosmetic appearance - thanks to the absence of copper, there is no so called ‘whitening’ effect.
Visser said: “For prolonged outfitting periods, common for newbuilding FPSOs, drill ships and offshore structures and also for shorter outfitting periods of general commercial ships, there is an increasing demand for vessels to look good at delivery both above and below the water line. SIGMA NEXEON 710 and 750 are ideal as initial and finishing coats to keep vessel hulls clean under water while providing a brand new cosmetic finish above the water line.”