Euronav Ups Anti-Fouling Measures for Increased Bunker Savings

After a 45-month patch test of Hempaguard, Euronav has decided to have four more vessels coated with the bunker saving fouling release product.

Marine coatings supplier Hempel A/S (Hempel) Wednesday announced that, following a 45-month patch test of its bunker saving fouling release product, Hempaguard, Euronav Ship Management (Hellas) Ltd. (Euronav) has decided to apply Hempaguard to four other vessels.

In 2011, Euronav is said to have applied Hempaguard to a 300m2 area on the hull of the Famenne, a Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC), which is usually employed with the "fouling aggressive" warm waters of Asia and the Middle East.

While the vessel is said to have voyaged around most of the globe and experienced "relatively many idle days" during the test period, Theodore Mavraidis, Fleet Technical Manager at Euronav, notes that "a diving inspection after 23 months in service and after 45 months in service confirmed and documented by video mapping that Hempaguard is still showing a smooth and fouling-free performance."

Hempel says that Hempaguard is capable of providing an average fuel savings of 6 percent across the entire docking interval.

Following the test results, Euronav is said to have been encouraged by fuel savings to apply Hempaguard to number of vessels in 2015, including Suezmax Devon and VLCCs Hakone and Hirado.

Hempel says the fuel savings delivered by Hempaguard is "significantly higher than conventional self-polishing antifouling hull coatings – even if the vessel changes trading routes and speeds or is idle for extended periods."

"As a result, vessels with a Hempaguard hull coating can switch trading patterns during the docking interval without losing antifouling performance, which gives vessel owners much greater flexibility in how they utilise their fleet."

In April, Hempel announced that, after two and a half years on the market, Hempaguard has now been applied to 500 ships.