Jotun secures anti-foul coating order in China

Norwegian marine coating company, Jotun, has announced that its SeaQuantum X200 anti-foul coating will be applied to a second Eitzen Chemical vessel at COSCO Dalian Shipyard in China this October.

The SeaQuantum X200, which was launched in 2011, is an antifouling that has been designed to maximise vessels’ hull performance and thereby optimise their energy efficiency. The technology gives an optimised initial smoothness enabling shipping companies to reduce their fuel consumption and emission of green-house gases.

Compared to market average antifouling, Jotun says that SeaQuantum X200 can improve propulsion efficiency by 15 per cent on a ship that maintains its speed over 60 months.

Dalian Shipyard’s involvement in the process of applying Jotun’s coatings reflects the recent investment the Norwegian company has placed in establishing manufacturing and distribution facilities around China.

Last year, Jotun opened a new powder coatings factory and regional research and development (R & D) facility in Zhangjiangang, Jiangsu Province.

The company also has a 50 per cent equity in a business run jointly with COSCO International, Jotun COSCO Marine Coatings Limited. The joint venture company has a manufacturing plant in Guangzhou and sales offices in Shanghai, Tianjin, Dalian, Qingdao, Fuzhou. 

Other marine coatings companies such as International Paint (IP) have also embraced the growing shipbuilding and drydocking market in China. IP established a subsidiary company for its China business, International Paint of Shanghai Co., Ltd., back in 1990.

According to Jotun, Eitzen Chemical drydocked its first vessel at Dalian Shipyard in May.

Rasmus Kjaer, general manager technical at Eitzen Chemical said: "Through several years of measuring our vessel's performance, we recognise that the correct choice of antifouling is one of the low hanging fruits when it comes to increasing our vessel's energy efficiency."