The size of the global antifouling coating market was estimated to be over 80 tons in 2015. The market is anticipated to see a significant growth on account of its growing demand in underwater surfaces and hills of shipping vessels since it offers superior and smooth polishing effect.
Antifouling coatings refer to specialized paints that are used in the hull of a ship to avoid the development of sub-aquatic organisms in order to enhance vessel durability and performance. Growing consumption in passenger ships, commercial vessels, cargo, yachts, conventional offshore drilling rigs, and Floating Production Storage & Offloading (FPSO) is projected to boost the growth of the market over the next eight years.
Increasing attractiveness of condition-based monitoring rather than breakdown maintenance in shipping segment is estimated to have a vital role in growing the significance of the product. Furthermore, its superior properties such as protection against corrosion, external contamination, and fouling will drive its growth.
Antifouling coatings were predominantly utilized for the shipping of vessels, holding more than 80% of overall volume in 2015. The application of these coatings provides direct fuel saving as well as encourages extending the interval of dry-docking by exempting hulls from fouling organisms.
Production platforms and drilling rigs are projected to experience the maximum rate of growth, at an expected CAGR of over 8.0% in terms of income, from 2016 to 2024. Increasing capital spending for FPSO vessels by corporations functioning in upstream oil & gas segment is predicted to increase the antifouling coatings demand over the next eight years.
Asia-Pacific emerged as the largest regional market, holding for more than 85% of the total volume in 2015. Shipbuilding activities are vigorous in China, South Korea, Philippines, Taiwan, and Japan. This is likely to lead to the domination of Asia-Pacific in the naval segment, thus fueling the antifouling coatings demand in the region. Furthermore, growing spending on the production and exploration of natural gas and crude oil in Thailand, India, and China are projected to additionally boost demand for antifouling paints in production platforms and drilling rigs.
South Korea, China, Philippines, and Taiwan are anticipated to experience substantial gains due to the existence of a vast number of shipbuilding manufacturers. Moreover, the development of India and Australasia as destinations for manufacturing of shipping vessels on account of regulatory provision for encouraging new investments at the domestic level is projected to intensify the industry size. However, the existence of rigid regulations checking the utilization of biocides in marine, personal care, water treatment, and agricultural applications by the European Commission and EPA is estimated to hinder the demand for antifouling coatings over the forecast period.
In September 2013, a draft national chemical policy was proposed by the government of India for elevating the country’s domestic production in the overall chemical industry to 6% by 2020. Encouraging government policy coupled with a progressive outlook towards Indian shipping sector is anticipated to provide new prospects over the next eight years. Antifouling coating market in Europe surpassed 6.0 kilotons in 2015. Adding to it, high penetration by the manufacturers of yachts in UK and Italy is predicted to positively impact the global market.
Significant players in the global antifouling coatings market include PPG Industries, Advance Marine Coating, AkzoNobel, Sherwin-Williams, Kansai Paint, Jotun, Nippon Paint, and Hempel. Jotun released a new facility for marine coatings production in August 2015 in Brazil with an expenditure of over USD 20 million. This manufacturing division is expected to yield marine coating products of 10 million liters, which includes antifouling products.
Hempel introduced two products by the brand name, DYNAMIC, and GLOBIC, for new shipyard constructions and dry dockings so as to supply fuel reserves of approximately 3% in 2014. Strategic initiatives including new product development have been estimated to continue to be a vital factor for the success of antifouling coatings market over the forecast period. Ongoing research &development initiatives to develop antifouling coatings from natural ingredients such as palm oil are likely to create huge potential for the market over the next few years. In 2011, a new non–toxic antifouling coating based on palm seed was developed by Biomimetics Innovation
