WAN HAI Uses Nippon Paint Marine Hull & Surface Coatings

Marine coatings leader Nippon Paint Marine will provide its FASTAR XI hull coating and its EVER COOL heat-reflective coating for two newbuild vessels for WAN HAI, a leading container shipping operator from Taiwan.

This new project, covering an 8,700 TEU methanol dual-fuel container ship and a 16,000 TEU methanol dual-fuel container ship, is the first newbuild project the two companies will undertake together. The vessels will be built by the Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries shipyard in Korea.

FASTAR XI is part of Nippon Paint Marine’s FASTAR antifouling coating range and delivers up to 14.1% fuel savings compared with the market average over 60 months. FASTAR features a unique hydrophilic and hydrophobic nanodomain structure within the coating film, enabling precise, controlled elution of biocides at the surface. This same nanodomain structure also supports superior self-polishing and self-smoothing antifouling performance. 

EVER COOL is a heat-reflective coating, designed to minimize heat transference to the interior of the vessel and reduce energy consumption for air conditioning.

Since 2021, WAN HAI has worked with Nippon Paint Marine to coat over 70 vessels with the FASTAR antifouling solution. Putting a high priority on energy efficiency and fuel savings, the shipowner has monitored the performance of its FASTAR-coated vessels to identify and understand how the coating contributes to energy savings across its fleet.

WAN HAI commented, “We have already seen excellent fuel-saving performance on our vessels using Nippon Paint Marine’s FASTAR hull coating over the past five-year period. The technical service and support we have received from their team has been of the highest quality, and we are delighted to work with them on our newbuild project, as we continue to develop our long-term partnership. As we respond to expanding international environmental standards, Nippon Paint Marine’s diverse and competitive portfolio will ensure our newbuild vessels are compliant with regulations, and deliver enhanced operational efficiency, while managing maintenance costs.”

Nippon Paint Marine commented, “We have been working with WAN HAI for many years to provide technical guidance and support on the use of coatings to improve the energy efficiency of their fleet of vessels and build a trustworthy partnership that delivers results. Securing the agreement, our team in Korea provided tailored coatings specifications to WAN HAI and the shipyard, consulting with them to meet technical and customer requirements and deliver commercial success. We are delighted to be working with both organizations on this newbuild project to enhance vessel performance and deliver sustainable operations.”