Subsea Industries will enter the luxury yacht market with its Ecospeed coating. The reason is the introduction of stringent regulations aimed at reducing the impact of leisure craft operations on the marine environment.
The Antwerp-based coatings company will market its non-toxic[ds_preview] hard coating initially in the United States, where there is increasing scrutiny of copper-based antifouling systems on the hulls of all types of pleasure boats. »There is a momentous drive to remove copper from the antifouling coatings typically used on the hulls of pleasure yachts«, said Kelly Townsend, Subsea Industries’ US-based Sales Manager.
According to the company there has already been a number of studies published that found pleasure boat antifouling products to be the primary source of copper and biocidal contamination in US marinas. The US Department of Pesticide Regulation (DRP), for instance, published a study in January that found excessive levels of copper and other toxic compounds were resultant of the ‘frequency of in-water hull cleaning and the use of abrasive and aggressive practices’.
Spikes in copper leaching
The study found spikes in copper leaching, increased dissolved copper content and released paint particulates in to the marinas’ studied. However, as Townsend said: «Ecospeed hulls can be legally cleaned in-water because the hard-type, glass flake coating is proven to remain intact during the cleaning process.«
Ecospeed hulls could be cleaned by pressure washing but the best way would it be to clean in-water using mechanical brushes as this results in a hydrodynamically smoother surface which is harder to foul and reduces fuel consumption Subsea Industries stated.
Since the study, the DPR has now proposed a ‘Cu AFP Regulation’ that would require ISO leach rate data with every copper AFP product applied. It also recommended that from July 2018, no new or currently registered copper AFP product above 9.5µg/cm2/day would be registered, except when labelled for commercial vessel use only and prohibited from use on recreational vessels, the company added.
It is widely anticipated that California will follow Washington state’s lead in introducing legislation to reduce the amount of copper leaching into marinas and harbours. n 2011, Washington became the first state to adopt a no-copper paint rule. And from 1 January 2018, no new recreational boat up to 65 feet can arrive with copper on its hull and no copper can be sold or applied to a boat after 1 January 2020.
One of the first yachts to have opted for a copper-free coating solution was the 76ft yacht »Oceantide«, which was coated with Ecospeed in 2007. The entire hull bottom, rudders and stabilisers were painted with two coats of Ecospeed, a total thickness of about 1000 µm.
