The Need for the Formation of an Independent, International Marine Coatings Board

Abstract

Effective national and global regulations for the use of antifoulant biocides to prevent boat bottom fouling have proven to be far more complex and difficult to achieve than one would perceive for a variety of reasons discussed in this paper. Tributyltin (TBT)-based antifouling boat bottom paints have replaced copper because they were more effective. Currently TBT antifoulant coatings have been estimated to save ship owners over two billion dollars annually in fuel avoidance costs. Nevertheless, at the initial urging of Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Japan, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom, the Marine Environmental Protection Committee (MEPC) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) recently recommended the phasing out of the use of TBT in antifouling paints over the next five years. The case history of TBT is an example of the failure of the marketplace to balance itself such that one technology was so successful that it achieved worldwide application without serious competitive and comparative review. Subsequently its dominance has retarded the development and comparison of other alternatives. There is a concern that replacement paints for TBT may exhibit a new set of unanticipated environmental problems. It is important that history not be repeated. The development of a Marine Coatings Board (MCB) is proposed, associated with MEPC, and funded from the fuel savings by ship owners to promote the development and comparative evaluation (standardized testing) of antifoulant alternatives. A goal of the MCB would be to promote the development and approval of alternatives to toxic antifouling paints containing organotins (as formulated today) in the near future that have comparable environmental and economic benefits as the ship owners have had with current TBT antifoulants. A major activity of the MCB would be the development of a comparative evaluation process, which utilizes standardized protocols to delineate apples from oranges when comparing different technologies or products.