SealCoat’s anti-foulant can withstand the harsh environment of the gulf
SealCoat makes waves

SealCoat Gulf Limited, part of the SealCoat Group, has brought a unique non-toxic, combined corrosion protection and anti-fouling coating to the Gulf.
The coating known as SealCoat 5 is made up of two elements. The first being layers of solvent-free epoxies which provide a tough, high-build and water-tight protective film to the substrata, which can be aluminium, wood, fibreglass, concrete, rubber or steel.
As the final layer of epoxy is applied, millions of tiny fibres are electrostatically sprayed in to the epoxy using SealCoat's own fiber coating machines.
These fibres add strength to the epoxy film and also act as a powerful antifouling coating that works mechanically and not chemically. The coating looks and feels like velvet and it is this surface that the larvae of hard bio-fouling are unable to attach to.
SEALCOAT 5 ON A VESSEL; A COATED SEGMENT OF A BOOM PLACED IN DUBAI CREEK FOR SEVERAL MONTHS WAS FOUND TO BE FREE OF HARD BIO-FOULING
With the recent banning of paints containing TBT in 2003 and the increasing pressure to ban all antifouling paints that contain poisons, an environmentally friendly solution such as SealCoat 5 is certainly an attractive alternative to companies and individuals who wish to comply with both expected changes in legislation and public demand.
A SealCoat 5 coating will last for up to five years and is cost efficient, says Charles Soud, managing director of SealCoat Gulf. It is also completely safe to both applicators and the marine environment.
Already operating in 14 countries including the UAE, SealCoat has embarked on an aggressive expansion plan and will open more companies throughout the world.
Soud expects the company to open office shortly in Bahrain and Oman and will then roll out SealCoat throughout the Gulf region. In its first year in the Gulf, the management of SealCoat Gulf is delighted with progress. Several vessels have been coated with SealCoat 5 and the company is taking orders for later this year.
Some of the most prestigious projects so far, within the region, include the application of a 200 m patch on Auriga, a 420,000 dwt tanker which the owner, Vela International Marine, a wholly owned subsidiary of Saudi Aramco, has had applied as a test patch, a supply Vessel operated by Gulf Agency Company and the coating of pieces of a boom situated in the Dubai Creek.
According to Soud, SealCoat 5 is working very well and proves that even in the waters of the Gulf where hard bio fouling is known to be a significant problem to the shipping industry, SealCoat 5 is proving to be a solution.
SealCoat 5 has been applied on hundreds of vessels and structures across the world and has undergone extensive testing both by SealCoat and respected marine institutions in Europe, America and China. After the completion of a two-year test carried out by the LimnoMar institute of Germany together with the German environment Ministry and the World Wildlife Fund, where several non-toxic anti-fouling coatings were tested it was found that SealCoat 5 performed better than other products and felt to be on the same performance level as current antifouling paints that contain TBT.
SealCoat Gulf has a wide range of corrosion protection coatings which are suited to the harsh environments of the region and completely non-toxic. But for the present, its main area focus will be on the marine antifouling segments it feels that the tide is turning and the demand for non-toxic, long-lasting, affordable and cost-effective antifouling solutions is going to increase dramatically in the run up to the 2003 IMO (International Maritime Organisation) ban on the use of paints containing TBT.