A-LF SEA hull coating selected by Gaslog for drydocking programme
Piraeus-based gas carrier vessel operator Gaslog Ltd has opted to apply Nippon Paint Marine’s A-LF Sea hull coating as part of its current drydocking programme, the company said in its release. The shipowner strives to limit the impact of its operations on the marine environment and pursue optimal operational efficiency across its fleet. With this in mind, anything proven to reduce fuel consumption has a direct impact on environmental and operational costs.
A-LF Sea minimises significantly biofouling and hull resistance and, consequently, results in reduced fuel consumption and engine emissions. Gaslog operates a fleet of 27 modern liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier ships of between 145,000m3 and 180,000m3 capacity, and has a further seven ships on order, two 174,000m3 and five 180,000m3 capacity vessels.
A-LF Sea is simple to apply, using standard application techniques, can be applied over existing coatings or as a newbuild application. With a fresh layer of A-LF Sea applied at each drydocking, the fouling resistance and water trapping function can be maintained throughout the vessel’s service life.
As the world’s most advanced ultra-low friction coating system, A-LF Sea employs a patented copper silyl acrylate copolymer technology with a high volume of solids to provide excellent antifouling performance over long periods. The coating is stable in self-polishing and is effective in whatever marine environment the ship sails. A-LF Sea has become the hull coating of choice among a large number of high-end shipping companies including containership operators, car carrier companies and cruise lines.
The coating has been successfully applied to almost 3,000 ships worldwide. In December 2019, Nippon Paint Marine Coatings received the 2019 Japan’s Environment Minister’s Award for Global Warming Prevention Activities in the Countermeasure Technology Advanced Introduction Category for its work on reduction of fuel consumption and CO2 emissions through the use of low-friction bottom paint. A-LF Sea was developed under a project undertaken by Nippon Paint with the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) in conjunction with classification society ClassNK and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL). It complies with IMO-AFS2001 as a tin-free anti-fouling system and is certified by the major classification societies.
ABOUT NIPPON PAINT MARINE
Nippon Paint Marine is a subsidiary of Nippon Paint, a top five global paint supplier. Nippon Paint has been producing marine coatings in Japan since the 1880s and has been the leader in the development of all kind of marine paint technology but especially antifouling paints. Nippon Paint developed and launched the world’s first self-polishing (SPC) tin-free antifouling paint in the 1990s and followed that by the launch of the world’s first low-friction SPC in 2006. More recently, the company developed Aquaterras, the world’s only bocide-free SPC antifouling paint. Aquaterras is a unique micro-domain SPC developed by Nippon Paint Marine from raw materials used in the pharmaceutical fields.