Another Major Container Shipping Line Opts for Environmentally Beneficial Hull Treatment

NORWAY – SWITZERLAND – WORLDWIDE – Proving things often takes time, particularly when one is trying out a new system of hull coating which has the potential to produce better performance for one of the world’s biggest fleets. So it was with the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), the second largest container shipping line which operates a fleet of almost five hundred freight and passenger vessels, when in 2013 the company launched a pilot programme to evaluate hull performance and to test the impact of antifouling on vessel speed.

Following an extensive trial the company has announced it will now apply Jotun’s Hull Performance Solutions (HPS) on a number of existing and new vessels. In the initial tests Jotun’s SeaQuantum X200 was applied to the 8,772 TEU containership MSC Adelaide, delivered from the Sungdong Yard in Korea in 2013 and now Senior Marine Engineers from MSC’s Technical Office have confirmed that initial results on the MSC Adelaide have been very encouraging with an MSC statement saying:

“SeaQuantum X200 has shown to be an effective antifouling technology to lower fuel costs and associated carbon emissions, consistent with MSC’s commitment to a healthier supply chain. We valued the quality of Jotun’s technical service during all phases of the project and have since chosen SeaQuantum X200 HPS for a number of other vessels.”

The agreement follows in the wake of an announcement by the United Arab Shipping Company (UASC) in November last year that they would be using Jotun processes on eleven newbuild box ships and Jotun says that MSC has agreed to utilise HPS on twelve vessels, including what is currently the world’s largest containership, MSC Oscar, a 19,224 TEU containership built by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) yard and delivered in January 2015. Roberto Multari, Jotun’s regional Marine Sales Director observed:

“MSC has remained a true giant in the container segment by quietly making smart investments at the right time to improve their business and improve environmental performance. We are confident that they have made the right choice with HPS.”