COSCO Shipping has indicated it will coat its entire fleet of VLCCs with Nippon Paint Marine’s new antifouling system FASTAR® once initial applications have been evaluated.
The hulls of the passenger ferry COSCO Star and the 56,000dwt bulk carrier Xin Liu Lin Hai will each be coated with the new antifouling at drydockings scheduled later this year.
COSCO Star will dock at the COSCO Shanghai Dockyard in February for a FASTAR® XI application, with the bulker currently scheduled to take the FASTAR® I version in May, at the COSCO Guangzhou Dockyard.
The shipowner selected the nano resin containing paint – introduced early last year – to help vessels meet the Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index (EEXI) requirements.
The amendment to MARPOL Annex VI, which requires all vessels above 400gt to measure their energy efficiency, enters into force in January 2023.
