Asia/Pacific News
Chinese Player Chooses Antifouling Coatings to Boost Fleet Efficiency
In a bid to boost the efficiency of its fleet, China-based China Merchant Energy Shipping Co. Ltd (CMES) has chosen fellow Chinese company Jotun COSCO Marine Coatings (Qingdao) Co Ltd to handle antifouling solutions for its current and future very large crude carriers (VLCC) projects, Jotun has announced.
Ships will be using Jotun's Hull Performance Solution (HPS) and the SeaQuantum X200 coating, which the company says is "the latest development in tin-free, high performance, ultra low friction self-polishing antifouling."
The company said that the change was made as demand for bunker savings and increased environmental performance has grown.
"Advanced antifouling technology is central to optimizing hull performance and our fleet's energy consumption. HPS demonstrates its effectiveness, helping us to quantify efficiency gains and contributing to something we all want - a more sustainable, environmentally-friendly, and profitable shipping environment," said Huang Yongquan, CMES deputy general manager.
CMES will make the change to all its new-build VLCCs constructed by the Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co., Ltd.
"Jotun's Hull Performance Solutions is consistent with requirement of sustainable development, part of which involves taking active steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We are quite convinced that HPS can play a very significant role in further reducing fuel cost and greenhouse gas emissions for customers and shipping industry," said Jotun President and General Manager Dong Zhaoming.
A European Commission program is also working to develop environmentally-friendly antifouling coatings to improve ship efficiency
