Marine coatings leader Nippon Paint Marine has reached an agreement to provide its Fastar XI hull coating and its Ever Cool heat-reflective coating for two newbuild vessels for Taiwanese container ship operator Wan Hai.
Nippon Paint Marine has been a long-term partner to Wan Hai, providing coatings support for dry dock and maintenance operations. This new project, covering an 8,700 TEU methanol dual-fuel container ship and a 16,000 TEU methanol dual-fuel container ship, is the first newbuild project the two companies will undertake together. The vessels will be built by the Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries shipyard in Korea.
Since 2021, Wan Hai has worked with Nippon Paint Marine to coat more than 70 vessels with the Fastar antifouling solution. Putting a high priority on energy efficiency and fuel savings, the shipowner has monitored the performance of its Fastar-coated vessels to identify and understand how the coating contributes to energy savings across its fleet.
Fastar XI is part of Nippon Paint Marine’s Fastar antifouling coating range and is claimed to deliver up to 14.1% fuel savings compared with the market average over a 60-month period. Fastar features a hydrophilic and hydrophobic nanodomain structure within the coating film, enabling controlled elution of biocides at the surface. This same nanodomain structure also supports superior self-polishing and self-smoothing antifouling performance. Ever Cool is a heat-reflective coating, designed to minimise heat transference to the interior of the vessel and reduce energy consumption for air conditioning.
Wan Hai has reported excellent fuel-saving performance on its vessels using Fastar hull coating over the past five-year period, and is looking to ensure its newbuild vessels are compliant with regulations, delivering enhanced operational efficiency, while managing maintenance costs.
Nippon Paint Marine’s hull coatings featuring its HydroSmoothXT water-trapping technology that reduces the effective roughness of the hull surface have been applied to more than 7,000 vessels. Coatings featuring the technology reduce fuel costs by up to 14.1% relative to the market average over a 60-month period. Nippon Paint Marine works with its customers to monitor the performance of their coatings in operational conditions and provide solutions that enhance performance.
Image: Nippon Paint Marine’s coatings will be applied to two newbuild vessels for Wan Hai (source: Nippon Paint Marine)
