• Seascour says marine descaler market, which relies on caustic chemicals and long expensive maintenance periods, is now ripe for disruption
• Seascour is set for rapid growth following extensive use on merchant vessels, recreational boats as well as testing this year on US Navy, US Coast Guard and NOAA oceanographic research vessels
• Seascour building market share by winning a series of accreditations including being the only descaler to secure the Environmental Protection Agency’s Safer Choice certification for outdoor use
• It further won IBEX award for innovation and became a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) bio certified product. Seascour is currently undertaking NAVSEA and Green Marine certifications
• Seascour’s growth is being backed by ownership of Hendry Holdings, one of America’s best-known maritime businesses and owner of Tampa’s Gulf Marine shipyard
• Seascour is a plant based organic product and does not contribute to the spread of dense algal blooms which traditional inorganic descalers do by discharging hydrochloric and phosphoric acids into the sea, lakes and rivers

Florida headquartered maritime firm Seascour, a manufacturer of marine descaler products, is marking its third year in business saying the era of caustic chemical cleaning must end.

Seascour President Kelly Hendry says the company has made significant progress in the last year and is set to bring massive environmental, safety and cost savings benefits to the global descaling industry.

Ms Hendry, who runs the Gulf Marine shipyard in Tampa, brought Seascour into the wider Hendry Holdings Group in 2023 having spotted the invention created by former US Navy submariner turned chemist Patrick Baymont. She said notable milestones have been made in the last year to innovate Seascour and grow market share. These include seeing Seascour used successfully on a wide range of merchant vessels across the US. She further pointed to extensive testing on a wide variety of vessels in the US Navy, US Coast Guard and NOAA research ships.

“We are very excited that the inflection point to seriously disrupt the marine descaler industry has now come,” she said. “The era of caustic chemical cleaning must end. The traditional methods of cleaning scale, and marine growth from heat exchangers, coolers, strainers, water desalination units and HVAC systems are notoriously expensive. And the harmful chemical cleaners used are further dangerous to shipyard workers and damaging to the environment.  At Seascour we want to change that. Our team has been working hard to secure the accreditations we need to drive mass adoption. For example, we are now gunning for the NAVSEA accreditation which will enable Seascour to be used across the US Naval fleet. This will be a massive moment for the company. Seascour is on an upward trajectory.”

Ms Hendry said an important breakthrough came when Seascour recently became the only descaler to receive the outdoor Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Outdoor Use Safer Choice certification. This means Seascour can be discharged direct to the ocean, lake or river and contains ingredients that are safer for aquatic life and the environment.

“The EPA Safer Choice certification shows we have a genuine innovation which can deliver positive change to the industry,” she said. “Just look at the environmental benefits. Traditional descalers contribute to algal blooms  by releasing chemicals. These blooms are a massive problem across the US and the world. They deplete oxygen levels, disrupt marine ecosystems, threaten aquatic life and have led to harbors being closed. Seascour does not contribute to algal blooms and is certified for outdoor use.”

Ms Hendry said Seascour is building a network of distributors across the US and now has six in place and is looking to appoint more agents worldwide. She said the cost savings of Seascour are driving demand with all vessel types being able to use the product from tankers, carriers, cruise ships and container vessels to recreational boats, tugs and workboats.

“A two-day drydocking requiring heat exchangers to be removed and reinstalled can be replaced by a three-hour flush with Seascour at sea,” she said. “Just figure the cost saving there. Immediately sailing days are freed up, drydocking costs are removed and importantly the equipment is not being damaged. Using toxic chemicals to clean the heat exchanger or HVAC system can damage the equipment and the machinery and pipes around it. Seascour can revolutionize descaling, traditionally one of the toughest most polluting jobs in a shipyard, making it fast, safe and easy.”

Seascour has further won the IBEX Boat Care Innovation Award and is now a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) bio certified product.