NEWSFRONT
GREEK SHIPPING INTELIGENCE

March 2001 - FROM THE MARKET PLACE

The effectiveness of the SealCoat anti-corrosion and antifouling system for ships was reviewed when the product's distributor Golden Iolkos earlier this month lifted a yacht, protected by the system, ashore at Kalamaki marina. Though the yacht had only been in the water for eight months, an examination of the hull demonstrated just how well it had been protected from corrosion and fouling - there were no signs of either.

SealCoat has been around commercially for about five years but because it is thought to be so revolutionary has been slow to win wide market acceptance. However, the tougher environmental requirements that have been coming into force since the product was revealed to the wider shipping market at Posidonia 1998, could place SealCoat in the front rank of protective systems tackling corrosion and antifouling problems.

Developer of the system, K. Alm was on hand at Kalamaki. He said that with the ban on TBT, SealCoat could come into its own. It is non-toxic, is made of two solvent free epoxies and synthetic fibers and has no compact on the environment or health and safety.

Alm said the product is a combined corrosion/osmosis protection and antifouling system which can be used as either or both. It is easy to apply and carries a five year warranty. Alm said "the system's secret lives in fibres incorporated in the topcoat". They are special electrostatic charged fibres which are sprayed at a specific angle onto a layer of solvent free epoxy. Growth can't maintain a grip on the coat as they gain weight and automatically fall off; thus SealCoat is "a mechanical not a chemical protection".