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International Paint has added two coatings to its biocide-free Intersleek antifouling line, promising to reduce hull surface roughness without the need for full underwater blast cleaning.
Over the last 10 years, Intersleek systems “have delivered the proven benefits of an ultra-smooth hull surface on thousands of ships and different ship types, resulting in reduced fuel consumption, cost and reduced greenhouse gas emissions,” the company says.
Vessels coated with non-SPC (self-polishing copolymer) antifouling coatings have usually required full blast cleaning of the underwater hull to remove existing coatings prior to installing the Intersleek system.
The new Intersleek 7180 Linkcoat, however, allows access to fluoropolymer based Intersleek 900 and silicone-based Intersleek 700 foul release technology, without that process, according to the company.
Application and Features
Intersleek 7180 is specially designed for direct application over existing traditional antifouling technologies, controlled depletion polymers and hybrid schemes in addition to SPC antifoulings. Application of Intersleek 7180 Linkcoat followed by the full Intersleek scheme can significantly reduce the surface roughness of an existing antifouling system, resulting in a smoother hull, less drag, more vessel efficiency, and reduced fuel consumption and emissions, the manufacturer says.
Dual-cure technology (DCT) enhances adhesion to, and performance over, a wide range of existing antifouling surfaces, according to the company.
With shorter times in drydock and less surface preparation, the system can save ship operators more than $450,000 over a full blast and full scheme application on a typical VLCC vertical sides application, the manufacturer says.
For more information, visit www.international-marine.com.
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