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Hull Coating Guarantees Fuel Savings

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

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Jotun has wrapped its premium SeaQuantum X200 marine coating into a new service and technical support package that includes performance measurement tools and a guarantee.

Jotun Jotun says it has developed “a credible and transparent method to isolate the hull's effect on fuel consumption.”

The package, called Jotun Hull Performance Solutions, has four components:

• SeaQuantum X200, based on silyl methacrylate binder technology;

• Technical service and a dedicated project manager;

• “Reliable and transparent method” of measuring, quantifying and reporting the relationship between hull performance and fuel economy; and

• A performance guarantee.

Hull Performance Standard

“HPS represents a genuine game-changer in the marine coatings segment,” says Geir Bøe, Divisional Vice President, Marine Coatings. “Jotun is the industry’s first marine coatings manufacturer to back fuel reductions claims with a guarantee, based on verifiable results. We believe HPS represents the new hull performance standard in the marine coatings industry.”

The HPS package caps a three-year effort by Jotun to develop monitoring tools and an analysis method that show what the company calls the coating’s “ability to dramatically lower fuel costs over time.”

“By using sensors to capture information from different data points, we have a basis to calculate fuel savings over time,” says Bøe. “Based on these data, Jotun can offer HPS customers a guarantee that SeaQuantum X200 will provide a clean hull and less than 1.5% speed loss or maximum 4.5% increase in fuel consumption over 60 months, compared to the condition of the vessel after dry-dock.”

“Either we deliver on high performance, or we return the additional investment in SeaQuantum X200. That's how confident we are.”

Project Manager, Performance Analysis

The silyl acrylate, self-polishing antifouling SeaQuantum line was developed to reduce film thickness through a process known as hydrolysis, Jotun says. SeaQuantum X200 is based on silyl methacrylate binder technology.

“SeaQuantum X200 was specifically formulated to improve hull performance,” says Dr. Morten Eikenes, Jotun’s HPS Concept Development Director.

Because optimum performance relies on appropriate surface preparation and application as much as product quality, Jotun says, HPS customers will have “exclusive access to a dedicated project manager supported by a team of experienced technical advisors.”

With the measurement and analysis system, customers install sensors to measure shaft power, vessel speed, wind and draft. Once the data are collected, Jotun can plot the speed deviation relative to the vessel’s speed performance after dry-dock. A long-trend analysis of the hull performance provides a reliable statistical foundation for a high-performance guarantee for the coating, Jotun says.

Fuel, Emissions Impact

Jotun notes a recent study by the Norwegian Marine Technology Research Institute (Marintek Inc.) that links antifouling systems to reduced fuel consumption and carbon emissions. In the study, Jotun said, “average vessel speed loss is calculated at 5% for the 60 months lifetime of an antifouling paint. If converted to the extra fuel needed to maintain speed, vessels require about 15% increase in fuel consumption for the given 60 months period.”

Bunker consumption for the world fleet was about 400 million metric tons in 2010, Eikenes says.

“By choosing the right antifouling solutions, fuel costs can be reduced by 15% annually, with a corresponding reduction in carbon emissions of an estimated 190 million metric tons,” he says.

More information: Visit jotun.com/hps.