Abstract
On 5 October 2001, a diplomatic conference adopted the IMO convention on the control of harmful anti-fouling systems on ships by consensus. This convention states a global prohibition on the application of organotin compounds which act as biocides in anti-fouling systems on ships by 1 January 2003, and a complete prohibition on the presence of organotin compounds which act as biocides in antifouling systems on ships by 1 January 2008. However, to be legally binding it need to be ratified by at least 25 states, the combined merchant fleet of which constitute not less than 25% of the gross tonnage of the world’s merchant shipping.Many ship owners have for several years tested tin-free antifouling paint systems, both in form of test areas and for full hull bottoms, with varying success. Some ships have experienced severe fouling and speed loss. Hence, many ship owner advocate against the ban, and ask for more time and thorough documentation regarding the performance of alternative paint systems. And in the same way, most nations are reluctant to ratify the ban. This is the background for the initiative to this programme. The test programme is part of a research project called “Green Efforts for Existing Ships”, operated and managed by the Norwegian Marine Technology Research Institute, MARINTEK. The project is funded by the Research Council of Norway and the Norwegian Shipowners’ Association in addition to support from all participating partners.The overall objective of this TBT-free anti-fouling paint test programme is to perform testing and establish documentation on performance of last generation tin-free antifouling paint systems, based on application of test patches on ships in normal operation. Ship owners participate by offering test ships and arrange for test areas. The composition of test ships should be sufficiently broad to reflect operational conditions for the world fleet both regarding trades, trading waters, speed, activity levels, docking intervals etc,