Tailoring hull coatings to specific operations

International, as AkzoNobel’s marine coatings business is known, says the new product, Intertrac, has been in development since 2011 and trialled with customer partners since February 2013. The patent-applied-for system overlays a vessel’s route, speed and location data with a fouling challenge data set, which is said to permit coating specifications to be tailored specifically to suit an individual vessel’s operations and trading routes. The company says that this ensures effective cost management for hull coatings and helps maximise the ship’s operational efficiency.

Intertrac divides the world’s oceans and coastal waters into 64 “large marine ecosystems”, each with its own fouling risk and characteristics including salinity, temperature, thermal range, seasonality and typical pH levels. Analysis of these variables has enabled the company’s research and development scientists to assign each region one of five levels of fouling risk. Ship’s AIS data are used to establish operating profiles, and a fouling risk profile can then be developed for each ship.

Mike Hindmarsh, International’s global marketing manager for deep sea dry docking said: “Intertrac is unique in that as well as tracking vessels it can also overlay detailed fouling risk assessment from across the world’s oceans and coastal regions.

“By combining details of a vessel’s voyage – both geographically and in terms of operating profile – with an analysis of the fouling challenge in the regions where she has traded, we can provide our customers with detailed information on the level of fouling risk that they face. From this, we can deliver real consultancy for our customers, and recommend the optimal choice of antifouling coating specification, ensuring cost effectiveness and maximizing their levels of operational efficiency.”

He continued: “For example, if a vessel was trading for long periods in cold northern waters where the fouling challenge is low, it is appropriate to reduce the antifouling coating specification and save money by doing so. Seasonality is an important variable, but Intertrac automatically tracks the time spent and the months involved.”