International Paint has improved and expanded its range of antifouling coatings. The enhanced line up includes higher volume solids products, meaning reduced coats per scheme, lower levels of overspray and reduced VOC emissions. The new range will help ship owners, operators and ship yards meet the challenges of fluctuating fuel costs and increasing environmental pressures by delivering a full range of operational cost, environment and in-service performance benefits.

The range features our highest-performing self polishing copolymer antifouling, Intersmooth®SPC; our economical option Interspeed®; and a blend of both technologies in our new Interswift® products.

Leading the way is our renowned Intersmooth®7460HS SPC and Intersmooth®7465HS SPC, true, pure hydrolysing self-polishing copolymer antifoulings for deep-sea vessels featuring high volume solids and low VOC’s. Patented copper acrylate technology delivers controlled chemical dissolution of the paint film, which ensures continued smoothing over long drydocking intervals. Predictable polishing enables specifications to be tailored to specific ship types and operational profiles, while thin leached layers allow simple cleaning and recoating at drydockings.

Intersmooth®7460HS SPC and Intersmooth®7465HS SPC provide fouling control for up to 60 months and share in the proven track record of Intersmooth®SPC on over 15,000 vessels worldwide. The alternative Intersmooth®360 SPC and Intersmooth®365 SPC variants are specially designed for coastal vessels.

New Interspeed®6400 and Interspeed®6200 have been developed from proven controlled depletion polymer (CDP) based Interspeed® technology, which has been successfully applied to over 11,000 vessels. These products provide an economical choice for up to 36 months in service.

New Interswift®6800HS, developed from our proven self polishing Interswift® technology, is a high volume solids, low VOC blend of copper acrylate SPC technology and rosin based CDP technology. Providing up to 60 months fouling control in service, performance lies between the high performance SPC antifoulings and the more economical CDP antifoulings.

“The careful combination of technologies in Interswift®6800HS produces an antifouling which has the CDP benefits of surface tolerance, high volume solids and an attractive cost base, together with the patented copper acrylate SPC attributes of polishing rate control, reduced leached layer size and control of biocide release,” said Mike Hindmarsh, Business Development Manager for Biocidal Antifoulings.