PPG announced its 50th order for the electrostatic application of marine fouling control coatings. The project will be carried out on the VLCC SIDR, a 336-meter oil tanker operated by Bahri Ship Management at the Asyad Drydock Company shipyard in Oman, using PPG NEXEON™ 810 antifouling coating on the hull.

Leveraging decades of experience in the aerospace and automotive industries, PPG introduced electrostatic coating application to the shipping industry just over a year ago. Electrostatic application provides an increased transfer efficiency compared to airless spraying, resulting in sustainability benefits including significant reductions in overspray and waste. PPG has optimized its hull coatings for this application technique.

“Ship owners and shipyards are looking for innovative solutions to comply with stricter environmental regulations and meet their sustainability goals – these include low-friction hull coatings that reduce vessel greenhouse gas emissions and provide sustainably advantaged application procedures,” said Sijmen Visser, PPG sales director, Marine EMEA, Protective and Marine Coatings. “Electrostatic application is quickly being adopted by large shipping companies and by shipyards in Europe, Singapore and China.”

Conventional fouling control coatings are generally not suitable for electrostatic application. However, the formulation of both PPG Nexeon antifouling and PPG SIGMAGLIDE® fouling release coatings allow them to be sprayed electrostatically. Electrically charged paint particles are precisely guided towards the grounded surface of the vessel, leading to an exceptionally even distribution and the formation of a uniform and ultrasmooth, long-lasting film layer.

“We strive to conduct our business in a sustainable way and constantly measure our environmental impact through performance indicators,” said Khalid Alhammad, Ship Management President at Bahri. “A cornerstone of our environmental strategy is to reduce carbon emissions of our entire fleet. To achieve these objectives, we constantly adopt the latest technologies in hull coating that would help reduce vessel emissions. Combining that with a sustainable coating application technique makes it an attractive combination to us.”

In a recent project, EDR Antwerp shipyard confirmed a 40 per cent reduction in overspray with the electrostatic application of PPG Sigmaglide coating on a RoRo passenger vessel from Stena Line.

With reduced overspray, electrostatic application provides a cleaner operation and improved work environment for the applicators compared to airless spraying. Shipyards spend less time masking the vessel and cleaning the dock, saving time and costs.