Qualitative Method for Antifouling Long Life Paint for Marine Facilities or System

O. Sulaiman¹, A.H. Saharuddin², A.S.A. Kader³ and K.B. Samo⁴

^1,2,4Department of Maritime Technology, Faculty of Maritime Studies and Marine Science University Malaysia Terengganu, 21030 Kuala Terengganu (Malaysia). ³Department of Marine Technology, University Teknologi Malaysia (Malaysia).

ABSTRACT: Fouling is a major problem to shipping industry. Hull fouling reduces the fuel efficiency and speed of affected ships, increase in frequency of ship dry dockings, reduces propeller efficiency and accelerated corrosion rate. Antifouling paints are used to coat the underwater area of ships to prevent organisms such as algae and molluscs attaching themselves to the hull of the ship. As a result, antifouling paints which are alternatives to TBT systems such as controlled depletion systems (CDPs), tin-free self-polishing copolymers (tin-free SPCs) and foul release systems were developed in marine industry. However, most of these paints cannot last for long because misapplication. Paint is not a finished product until it has been applied and dried on an appropriate substrate at the designed performance film thickness. High performance paint systems are especially sensitive to misapplication and knowledge of the paint characteristics. Also recommended film thickness is vital to obtain optimum results to improve paints performance and reduce maintenance cost. Therefore, proper application is critical to the performance of the paint system. This paper presents the result of study made on the problems of fouling on ship hull structures and deduced a qualitative model for ship paints application in order to prolong the life span of antifouling paint.

KEYWORDS: Antifouling; application; hull fouling; paint; marine system

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