International Paint LLC, an Akzo Nobel company, announced a long-term agreement with Miami-based Carnival Cruise Lines to supply the company’s fleet with Intersleek 700 foul release coating system.
The agreement comes after Intersleek 700 was successfully used in a pilot program by Carnival beginning in 2001 to test the coating’s extended life performance in preventing organisms from adhering to underwater hulls. The program was expanded over the next five years. The consistent decrease in annual bunker costs over that time period led to the agreement that now includes 10 ships.
Roberto Martinoli, Senior Vice President of Technical, Environmental and Safety Operations, performed a thorough evaluation of the pilot program, which initiated several rounds of negotiations. Martinoli, Brian Swensen and Umberto Sampiero spearheaded these negotiations for Carnival, and Robert Hall, George Smyth, Tom Mulligan and Paul Marzocca for International Paint LLC. The goal was to create a proven underwater coating program that maximizes the ship’s fuel efficiency, creating economic value for Carnival.
Intersleek 700 is a silicone-based foul release coating system, providing an environmentally friendly solution to combat marine fouling. The coating also is designed to significantly increase underwater hull coating longevity, providing added fuel savings due to exceptionally low surface tension.
“We are very pleased that the industry’s largest cruise line has been using our advanced marine coatings since 1970,” said Robert Hall, Technical Service Representative for International Paint. “The fact that Carnival Cruise Lines was so enthusiastic about the benefits provided by Intersleek 700 indicates that we have a coating technology that has truly come of age.”
Brian Swensen, the cruise line’s Vice President of Technical Operations said, “Carnival is always seeking new ways to improve the efficiency and appearance of our fleet to meet our guest’s high standards. We are pleased to say that using Intersleek 700 Blue finish on the Boot-top area has provided our ships with a colorfast coating that never loses it high-gloss appearance. In addition, the use of Intersleek 700 on our hulls has resulted in an increase in the underwater hull coating life retention between dockings.”