Hull Coating Gives Supramax a "Staggering" $1.5 million in Bunker Cost Savings Over 5 Years

Coated with Jotun’s SeaQuantum X200, Penguin Arrow showed fuel and CO2 emission savings of $1.5 million and 12,055 tonnes, respectively, over 60 months.

A Gearbulk Ltd (Gearbulk) owned Supramax bulker has made a "staggering" $1.5 million in bunker cost savings over a 5 year period, along with a corresponding 12,055 tonne reduction in CO2 emissions, all thanks to the application of a hull coating from Norwegian paint manufacturer The Jotun Group (Jotun).

The coatings manufacturer said that test results, released Thursday, came from the 1997-built Penguin Arrow, which in 2012 was coated with its SeaQuantum X200 coating along with an array of sensors to determine the savings, with the results serving to prove the capacity of its Hull Performance Solutions (HPS) to deliver fuel and emission savings.

"Jotun has long argued that the right marine coatings represent one of the most cost-effective ways for owners to reduce emissions," said Stein Kjølberg, Jotun's Global Sales Director HPS.

"We expect these findings will attract significant attention not only from owners, but other industry stakeholders seeking a more sustainable industry."

Jotun noted that the performance monitoring project benefited from access to Penguin Arrow's historical performance dating back to January 2000, enabling a full comparative analysis of the vessel's operations with HPS.

As a result of using HPS, Penguin Arrow's speed loss was reduced to 0.5 percent over the data period, improving from the vessel's historical speed loss of 6.4 percent and a market average speed loss estimated at 5.9 percent, enabling Gearbulk to "achieve excellent fuel efficiency."

The company says the results from Penguin Arrow, the first vessel to receive that particular hull coasting, exceeded its expectations, particularly as the vessel experienced conditions that are normally conducive to fouling during the period, including lower than expected operational activity at lower than expected speeds.

While dependent on specific operational conditions, Jotun says that HPS can be expected to generally fulfill a return on investment within a year.

Last year the company predicted that the eventual approval of ISO 19030, which aims to establish standards and methods for measuring hull and propeller performance, could result in the world fleet's fuel cost being reduced by as much as $30 billion per year.