Nippon Paint Marine Coatings revolutionary ships’ hull coating AQUATERRAS yesterday won the Green4Sea Technology Award in an online-only event attended by the company’s President Seiichiro Shirahata.

The paint system, currently the world’s first and only completely biocide free, self-polishing (SPC) antifouling paint, came top in a global poll for making a “significant technological breakthrough” in marine environmental sustainability.

On accepting the award Mr Shirahata said: “We are honoured to receive the prestigious Green 4Seas Technology Award. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Apostolos and his team for continuing the GREEN4SEA Awards in these difficult times. The Technology Award is an extremely important category and Nippon Paint Marine is very proud to have won this award, especially as we celebrate our 140th Anniversary.

“Advancement through coatings technology has always been Nippon Paint Marine’s driving force and ethos. We are immensely proud that this commitment to technical achievement has been recognised by those forward-thinking ship owners that have applied the coating, but also to the global maritime industry in general for voting for this technology.

“The Nippon Paint Group’s Purpose Statement defines our goal as Enriching our living world through the power of Science + Imagination. This sets out our Environmental and Social Governance (ESG) and Sustainable Development (SG) goals. As a member of the Nippon Paint Group we will continue to develop world-leading technologies with the goal of solving social issues.

“In accepting this prize, we pay tribute to our fellow nominees, all of whom can be rightly proud that their products have been recognised in what is a demanding marine market.”

Other companies shortlisted in the category included Alpha Ori Technologies, Filtersafe, Solvang and Jotun.

Ryuji Ishihara, Chief Product Officer, Nippon Paint Marine, said: “The industry is truly global and the demands it places on suppliers and systems are high.  Nippon Paint Marine has always been at the forefront of technology.

“We launched AQUATERRAS in 2017 and in a relatively short time, the system has received wide market acceptance as it contains absolutely no biocides.  Its ground-breaking technology, developed by Nippon Paint’s team of R&D chemists, paves the way for a cleaner, greener ocean environment. By controlling biofouling and maintaining clean hulls the global shipping industry can help leave our oceans in condition fit for future generations to enjoy.”

AQUATERRAS, a product name derived from the Japanese word for shining and the Latin for water – Shining Water – is an entirely new type of marine coating developed using neither biocide materials nor silicone.

Typically, ships’ antifouling paints have contained some form of biocide – copper, tributyltin, co-biocides. But the use of biocides today is strictly controlled by both national and international regulations such as the BPR in the EU.

The 2021 GREEN4SEA Virtual Awards Ceremony preceded the GREEN4SEA Virtual Forum. Award winners were selected by a combination of open nomination and audience-voting.

Nippon Paint Marine Coatings, a member of the Nippon Paint Group, celebrated its 140th anniversary on 14 March 2021