Within the shipping and environmental industries, “biofouling” is a term that is used to specifically refer to problematic species that attach to or grow on ships and oceanic infrastructure, leading to unwanted invasive species into delicate marine environments.

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Underwater What?

Underwater welding. The two words together sound like a contradictory statement. How could anything involving exposed electricity safely take place underwater?

Welding and water, electricity and fluid? It’s simply doesn’t sound right when hearing it for the first time. Under most circumstances, we see this mixture as a bad idea.

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A ship intended to sail in international trade must hold a valid class certificate, issued upon verification of its compliance with the rules of a Classification Society.

Member societies of the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) are non-governmental organizations that are responsible for more than 90% of the world’s cargo-carrying ships’ tonnage.

Some of these societies have been around for a very long time. Lloyd’s Register of London for example, was established in 1760.  In those times, the shipping industry was experiencing rapid growth and was in a need of a system to properly assess and ensure the quality of the ships embarking on travel in the high seas.

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Has your ship been getting slower while engine RPM’s and fuel consumption continue to increase?

Experiencing irregular or inaccurate doppler readings?

Lack of volume or pressure in your ship’s cooling system?

Been a while since your last dry docking?

Good chance your vessel is coated and clogged by massive amounts of aquatic marine life known as marine growth.

You may be at the receiving end of a plethora of problems to come…

“Marine growth” or “Biofouling” within the shipping industry is a term that is used to specifically refer to problematic species that attach and grow to the underside of vessel and other waterborne oceanic infrastructures.

As you will find out in this article, marine growth continues to be a menace for ship owners and operators alike, contributing to a large range of issues that negatively impact the shipping industry on the whole.

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Thailand, uses its ideal geographical location to continue fostering growth in the merchant maritime and commercial shipping industries.

Its southwestern shoreline meets the Indian Ocean, and the eastern shoreline borders the Gulf of Thailand of the Pacific Ocean.

This water-surrounded nation, like many other major ocean-trading countries, are at the mercy of the harsh elements of the sea and are in constant need of subsea support in order to ensure prosperity.  This opens up a gigantic avenue for underwater-related work and maintenance.

However, these tasks can’t be carried out by regular people; we need a highly knowledgeable and trained specialist to perform these operations. This is where commercial divers come to play.

There are approximately 50,000 ships sailing the world’s oceans at any given time and about 1,000 ocean-going commercial vessels reach the end of service life each year.

With proper maintenance, a commercial ship’s average lifespan can reach 25 – 30 years. After this, the ship may become too expensive to operate or simply become unseaworthy, which may put human safety at risk.

Ever wondered what happens to a ship when it is too old to sail?

Let us learn all the 5 most common scenarios for the fate of an old ship!

What are antifouling coatings?

In general, antifouling coatings are specialized paint systems that are applied to the underside of a ship during its construction or drydocking.
Their main purpose is to prevent the settlement and growth of unwanted marine species onto the wetted area of a vessel’s hull.

Additionally, these coatings act as a barrier from the harsh seawater environment in which the hull plating is submerged in. These coatings help protect the steel hull against abrasions and corrosion attacks which will eventually degrade and weaken the vessel.

The application of antifouling coatings improves the durability, performance, and safety of the vessel.

In summary, antifouling coating systems continue to play a huge role in decreasing not only the operational costs of a commercial vessel but contribute to the reduction of the total operating expenses and the unwanted transmissions of hazardous non-native marine species around the world.