AkzoNobel’s Intercept 8500 saves ship owners approx US$25.5M of fuel

Owners and operators are saving fuel costs and reducing carbon emissions with AkzoNobel’s biocidal antifouling coating, Intercept 8500 LPP.

Part of the International product range, the coating has seen rapid adoption among customers with over 100 applications since its launch in March 2016, and is estimated to have saved vessels US$25.5M in fuel costs and 274,000t of CO2.

Intercept 8500 LPP is AkzoNobel’s highest-performing biocidal antifouling, revolutionising the market thanks to the linear polishing performance afforded by its combination of Lubyon and silyl methacrylate technologies.

"The milestone application of Intercept 8500 LPP to 100 vessels demonstrates the rapid uptake of this product,” said Carl Barnes, AkzoNobel’s Marine Coatings Antifouling Segment Manager.

"With the IMO refocusing efforts on its antifouling guidelines and increasingly stringent rules around invasive species emerging from areas such as California and New Zealand, it’s vital that the industry can access a full range of fouling control options to suit each vessel’s operating profile and trading route.

"At the same time, our industry remains under pressure to increase operational, cost and environmental efficiencies.

"Ship owners and operators understand the value of choosing a coating with the capability to deliver long-term consistent fouling control throughout the dry docking cycle, which supports overall business profitability and compliance with increasingly stringent environmental regulations,” Barnes said.

One recent adopter of Intercept 8500 LPP is Sea Light Shipping & Offshore Co Inc (SLS), a leading Dubai-based owner and operator of cargo ships, bulk carriers, multi-purpose and offshore vessels.

Sujith Menon, Technical Manager at Sea Light Shipping & Offshore Co Inc, said: "From what we have seen so far, the performance of Intercept 8500 LPP on the vessel KMB 4 has been excellent, considering the extreme fouling challenge encountered in the Gulf and low activity of this vessel – factors that can heavily impact fuel consumption and profitability.

"It’s clear that Intercept 8500 LPP is an effective means of protecting vessels that operate in the most difficult fouling conditions.”

The performance of the Intercept range is dependent on the unique characteristics and trading patterns of individual vessels.

The range has been incorporated into AkzoNobel’s industry-first Big Data consultancy technology, Intertrac Vision, which ship owners can access via specially trained Intertrac Vision consultants to gain an accurate picture of the performance of Intercept coatings on their vessels over the full dry docking cycle, prior to application.