Nippon Paint Marine reports that the number of vessels applying its hull coatings during dry docking increased by 9% year-on-year
In the 12-month period to June 2019, Japan’s Nippon Paint division registered increased applications across all ship sectors. Growth in supply of underwater coatings to gas tankers, in particular, saw the highest levels of growth.
The number of gas carriers applying Nippon Paint Marine products jumped by more than 30% during the period, followed by a 15% increase in the number of passenger vessels and cruise ships using the company’s coatings.
Bulk carrier and general cargo ship applications increased by 7% and 4%, respectively.
Studying the detailed statistics of the products’ applications revealed that the company’s self-indicating epoxy coating NOA10M was the coating most frequently applied during the period.
Significant growth was also seen with the class-leading fuel saving coating A-LF-Sea and the company’s standard anti-fouling Ecoloflex, both of which saw an increase in applications of 15%. The number of ships using Nippon’s high-end copper silyl-acrylate anti-fouling Ecoloflex HyB, meanwhile, increased steadily.
Nippon Paint Marine (Europe) GmbH deputy managing director Niko Yamanoue said: “While we need to determine whether the increase correlates directly to an increase in the number of ships that dry docked this year, there has been substantial market interest in the self-indicating capability of the NOA10M product.”
“The success of this product in ensuring applicators easily achieve correct paint film thickness, while reducing time and maintenance costs, has clearly had an impact.”
Niko Yamanoue commented that Nippon Paint Marine secured a higher number of gas carrier and passenger ship projects compared to the 2017 to 2018 period, which resulted in “a rise in up-take of our advanced low friction coatings”.
The imminent introduction of regulations to curb ship sulphur emissions has also resulted in an increase in orders for specialist coatings.
Nippon Paint Marine (Europe) GmbH director John Drew said: “There has certainly been a marked increase in orders to supply our NOA PC700 coating to shipyards retrofitting exhaust gas cleaning systems.”
“Shipowners are specifying the system to safeguard scrubber wastewater discharge outlets against corrosion, and we anticipate further orders as the regulation takes effect,” he said.
Hear more about the opportunities presented by maritime environmental regulations at the Maritime Hybrid & Electric (incorporating Hydrogen & Fuel Cells), Asia in Singapore 26-27 February 2020.
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