Coatings company Hempel says it has passed a landmark in the number of ships coated with its Hempaguard hull paint, after a 335m long container ship received the 3000th application of its flagship Hempaguard product during a dry-docking at Beihei Shipyard in China.
Alexander Enström, EVP Marine, Hempel, said: “Our customers are looking for technologies that can support them on their sustainability journey. 3000 applications of Hempaguard is equal to removing 27m tonnes of CO2, corresponding with 8.6m tonnes of fuel saved by having a smoother hull. The adoption of Hempaguard is growing exponentially. This year alone, we have seen sales of Hempaguard systems grow by 82%. The antifriction properties of Hempaguard help shipowners and charterers save on fuel usage and thereby emissions, so it’s the obvious choice for our customers.”
With stricter regulations related to decarbonisation coming into force in 2023, Hempel is seeing a widening range of clients seeking its advice, including an increasing number of bulker, tanker, containership and cruise operators and owners all keen to keep their vessels in operation come next year. The new regulations being introduced by IMO are the CII and EEXI. Hempel’s data suggests that about 80% of the world fleet will be required to take action to secure a good CII rating while reaching the required EEXI. Vessels will be forced out of the market if their owners and operators do not identify and adopt a comprehensive emission reduction pathway.
The savings related to the 3,000 vessel applications have been calculated by estimating the fuel savings of each Hempaguard application against a market average coating, based on market average numbers from the Fourth IMO GHG Study. For Hempaguard applications, the consumption, activity, duration until next dry dock and relative savings from the IMO GHG Study are estimated and the impact from the full DD cycle is summarised in the year of Hempaguard application, where the coating choice and thus fuel savings decision is taken.
