Chris Swanson,
Editor, CQD Journal Fears of a Copper Ban May be Premature, but Situation Bears Watching…Dolphin Jumping May Help Scientists Devise Non-Fouling Hulls…
Three days have concluded and there has been some very good information pertinent to the shipping industry. The
industry needs to know about upcoming research and potential policy changes. The Biofouling  Congress here in San Diego, CA gives a nice mix of both. The amount of research presented is staggering as is the depth of knowledge base that continues to be established by
these scientists.CQD Journal's focus for the early part of the week is to enlighten readers regarding antifouling research and policy. One of our concerns has been the availability
of non-organotin based biocide paints. John Lewis of DSTO in Australia outlined the international availability of such paints based on
their approvals in countries such as the US, UK and Australia. His was a mixed message saying that "relatively few biocides provide effective performance that we need,"
however there are currently 5 biocides approved for sale in the UK, 4 in the US and more in Australia. With the pending international ban of organotin based biocide paints in 2003 and 2008,
there is a question as to whether governments or environmental groups will soon be looking to ban other biocides. Patricia Cameron
of the World Wildlife Fund made no doubts that her organization's ultimate goal is biocide–free antifoulants. Fortunately this appears to be a long-term goal of WWF and Ms. Cameron did not advocate any
immediate bans.Unfortunately, individual countries and states may be taking a more aggressive attitude. Lars Tomasgaard from Nordox Industries described how the  Swedish EPA (KEMI) set exceedingly strict standards on copper levels in their waters based
on very little scientific data. According to Tomasgaard, Sweden is prohibiting the use of ANY antifoulants on pleasure crafts. Yacht owner's only option is to scrub off fouling growth manually.
An afternoon of presentations on studies in San Diego Bay provides an early warning sign to ship owners regarding limitations on copper use for biocide based paint. While San Diego Bay is primarily
used by military and pleasure craft, the merchant industry will want to see how the State of California deals with this problem. The danger lies when case studies
such as those in San Diego Bay and Sweden become bureaucratic models for future limitation to all copper biocides. The last thing the shipping industry can handle would
be a ban on the one biocide that is used in 74% of non-organotin based antifouling paints. Wednesday's sessions were of a lighter tone and provided some insight into the future of biofouling control.
Paul Armistead from the Office of Naval Research described some of the work that the US Navy is performing on hull coatings. They have been very active
in researching novel ideas to hull coatings, including additives to toughen silicone coatings, elastic polymers and other ideas. They've even looked into mixing special oils
into silicone to help it deter fouling adhesion.A lot of other research has gone into natural antifouling mechanisms. Nature has had
thousands of years to perfect antifouling mechanisms and people such as Gabriele Ferrari and
Grant Burgess are trying to find out if we can adapt these to be used on
ships. Ferrari has investigated antifouling secretions put out by sponges and Burgess has cultured some anti-microbial compounds that are produced by brown seaweeds.
Even more fascinating is the research into animal surfaces that naturally avoid fouling.
Christophe Baum studies the skin of pilot whales and dolphins. He has found that
dolphin's habit of jumping and splashing in water is not merely for fun.  Bubbles created by their antics act with the smooth surface of the dolphin's skin to knock off 50-80% of fouling organisms. Baum and his group are trying to study the skins of pilot
whales and dolphins to see if ships in the future can mimic these properties.
A brief summary of selected presentations is below:John A. Lewis – Fouling prevention in the Royal Australian Navy: Where we are, and where we are going…Email: j.lewis@dsto.defence.gov.au From the Defense Science & Technology Organization (DSTO), representing the
Australian Navy, Lewis discussed the state of the antifouling industry since IMO passed the TBT ban in October 2001. Regarding approvals of biocides, he indicated the
regulatory regime has tightened and less biocide paint formulations have been approved. In the U.K. Diuron and Sea Nine have had approvals revisted and use by
amateurs revoked. Only 5 biocides have been approved in the U.K. and 4 in the U.S. Australia recently passed stricter approval requirements, meaning new formulations will
likely take 5-6 years for registration.Lewis felt that the future in antifoulants will likely reside in non-biocide coatings. He said
" I don't believe we can depend on biocidal coatings into the future." His group has noted some success on silicone systems, although he noted sensitivity to heat, and sun. Silicone did not perform well on submarines.
Challenges from the IMO AFS Convention - Eivind Berg
– Jotun Paints, IncEmail: Eivind.Berg@jotun.no
Berg discussed IMO's ban on TBT and claimed that 68 of 75 nations signed the TBT ban "on-the-spot" in October 2001. He said whether or not it is entered into force, all ships should adopt the ban.
His challenges to Shipowners include:
- Document vessel's compliance with the AFS Convention and get it certified with a Compliance Statement.
 Stop asking for TBT paints after 2002.- Use a sealer over current TBT paints.
His challenges to Classification Societies include:
- Conduct surveys.
- Document antifouling systems that do not have organotin.
- Issue statements of compliance in conducting a survey.
- Get approval from the Flag States to issue compliance statements.
Inspection Method for Identification of TBT containing Antifouling - Tetsuya Senda –
National Maritime Research Institute of Japan.Email: senda@nmri.go.jp
Senda outlined his proposal for on-site inspection system to test the presence of tributyltin (TBT) on ships.
His proposal outlined:
1. Take a brief sample of vessel while in port using pre-designed sampling mechanism. 2. Do an on-site inspection of the sample testing only the presence of tin using
X-ray fluorescence Spectrometry. 3. If tin is present, perform a final determination of TBT/Organotin using Gas Chromatography / Mass Spectrometry.
Senda also designed software to simplify the on-site inspection program since most users are not proficient at identifying X-ray fluorescent diagrams.
Biocide-free Antifouling Paints – the long-term solution to preserve the marine environment - Patricia Cameron
– World Wildlife Fund for nature (WWF)Cameron discussed the WWF program to test antifouling paints. Results include:
- Some paints performed up to 24 months
- Results were highly dependent upon ship's operations
- Silicone is an effective biocide free layer
- Self polishing Copolymer (SPC) paints were good on fast moving ships.
She said their program showed SPCs generally had less fouling than silicones. Results of their tests are available at :www.panda.org/toxics/imo
Research and Development in Marine Biofouling Control at the Office of Naval Research -
Paul Armistead – Office of Naval Research (ONR)Email: armistj@onr.navy.mil
The Navy's research program has always focused resources on obtaining a scientific understanding of ship hulls and their interactions with the surrounding environment.
Armistead described current and future research goals. The Office of Naval Research (ONR) has focused their efforts towards maximizing fuel efficiency and ship performance,
minimizing ship maintenance and minimizing the risk of introductions of non-indigenous species. According to Armistead, new resources are going into the area of hull coatings and many
novel soft coating systems are under development. ONR is looking into ways to toughen Silicone and make it cheaper to use as a hull protector. Other new concepts include the
use of elastomers for primers and new formulations from thermoplastic materials for hulls. ONR has even investigated using silicone oil additives that will stay on the hull and deter adhesion of biofouling.
The Development of Marine Natural Product Based Antifouling Paints - Dr. J. Grant Burgess
– Heriot- Watt University, Edinburgh, U.K.Email:
j.g.burgess@hw.ac.uk Research in the field is not exclusive to chemical and paint technologies. Marine
biotechnology is searching into means of converting natural compounds into antifouling materials. Burgess is investigating natural antifouling mechanisms secreted by brown
seaweeds. He said there are whole populations of natural biofilms on the surface of seaweeds that keep the plant free from fouling.
His researchers have pulled bacterial extracts that could prevent fouling. According to Burgess, the extracts don't last very long and they need to be more potent. Currently
they are working on ways to trick microbes into making antifouling secretions by mimicking the natural environment. Burgess said that mimicking the natural
environment may be very important in producing natural antifoulants.
Surface Properties on the Skin of Delphinids - Christofe Baum – Alfred Wegener
Insititute for Polar and Marine Research, GermanyEmail:
cbaum@awi-bremerhaven.de Baum's team of scientists have been examining the skin of creatures that live in the
ocean, to try to determine what properties it may contain that keeps the animals from becoming fouled. Current research looks at the skin of marine mammals from the
Delphinid family such as pilot whales and dolphins.
Two concepts of the skin captured Baum's attention. Examining under an electron microscope, Baum determined that the skin is covered with polar/non-polar
patches, interspersed with a gel compound. He believes the patches fragment biofouling layers making attachment difficult. The pore-filling gel enhances the fluidity of the
skin, making it easier for any attachments to slough off. The second property Baum noticed was the self-cleaning abilities of dolphins. Air bubbles created from jumping out of the water removes between 50-80% of
contaminants. The combination of skin polar/non-polar patches, gel compounds and air bubbles created via splashing works extremely well in combating any marine fouling that may occur on the mammals.
The adaptability of these properties to ship's hulls has still to be determined. |
11th International Congress on