USA-based Advanced Polymer Coatings (APC) is further reinforcing its position as the prime protective tank coating company in Turkey’s maritime sector with a series of high-profile deals.

The Avon Ohio manufacturer, which already holds 80 per cent of the Turkish marine protective coatings market, has sealed a raft of new contracts to apply its MarineLINE tank coating system to newbuild tankers as well as recoating projects.

A deal with Genka Shipbuilding will see MarineLINE applied to a newbuild 2000DWT oil and chemical tanker. Construction of the vessel at the Pendik Naval shipyard will get underway in January 2023. Its parent company operates a fleet of regional and coastal tankers and APC has a long-standing relationship with the family-owned business having previously coated six of its tankers.

APC has also signed a contract with Okan Ogullari Shipping to coat its latest new build 10500DWT tanker. Construction work is also scheduled to start in January 2023. APC’s relationship with Okan Ogullari goes back to 2006 when it was one of the manufacturer’s first customers and MarineLINE has been applied to four of the vessels in its fleet.

In another deal, APC has been commissioned by Swan Tanker to recoat M/T İpek-S, a 6267DWT oil and chemical tanker which was built in 2009.

The 2013-built tanker M/T Endeavour 15,995dwt will also be recoated with MarineLINE in early 2023 after an agreement was struck with DüZGIT Shipping Management. The Istanbul based business has a five-strong fleet, all coated with the MarineLINE system.

These contracts are the latest in a collection won by APC in Turkey during 2022. They include a major multi-ship deal to recoat ten tankers with Turkish ship management firm Chemfleet signed in July. The fleet ranges from 6000 to 15000DWT tankers and the work will be undertaken at a collection of Turkish shipyards.

APC Global Marine Manager Captain Onur Yildirim and Turkish Marine Manager Captain Koray Karagoz, spearheaded the latest new deal activity.

Captain Yildrim said: “This latest raft of deals underlines the strength of our position in the Turkish market and is testament to all the work we have undertaken to build and nurture close relationships with our customers. We know their requirements and they know what MarineLINE delivers for them, as well as the service and dedicated support that we provide.

“We continue to see demand for MarineLINE increase in Turkey and other key export markets. We deliver a premium product, a tank coating that can perform and cope with a wide variety of chemicals over a sustained period.

“The low absorption characteristics and highly glossy surface of MarineLINE allow operators to reduce overall tank cleaning times, which in turn reduces fuel consumption and GHG emissions associated with hot water production.

“Combined with the cargo versatility and flexibility that MarineLINE offers over its competitors, through its ease of cleaning between different cargoes, it continues to give us a real edge.”

Genka Shipbuilding Managing Director Kemal Akbasoglu explained why APC had been awarded the work on its new build tanker. He said: “MarineLINE’s chemical resistance played an important part in our decision to choose APC for this project.Since this vessel is designed for future fuels such as methanol, chemical resistance of the cargo tanks plays a vital role for our customer.”

APC has coated and repaired more than 450 vessels since establishing itself in Turkey in 2001. Exports underpin APC’s growth with key markets, which also include China, the Gulf and Croatia.

The company now has more than 12 per cent of the global chemical tanker coating market with 700 ships coated worldwide with MarineLINE. In 2021 APC reported one of its most successful years of trading coating 56 ships equating to over 750,000 square metres of MarineLINE applied.