Digital tools predict the impact of anti-fouling coatings on ship efficiency

AkzoNobel's Marine Coatings business launched Intertrac Vision software, a digital tool that accurately predicts potential fuel savings and reduced carbon emissions from anti-fouling coatings, the first consulting tool in the shipping industry to predict the impact of anti-fouling coatings on ship efficiency. With more than 3.5 billion data points, Intertrac Vision is the shipping industry's first "big data" solution that accurately predicts the performance of coating technology before construction.
Intertrac Vision incorporates the following analytical factors, such as the roughness of the hull (the "roughness" associated with biological defacement), and uses computational fluid dynamics studies on different ship types. The individual ship data entered is then calculated using a patented algorithm to accurately and detail the impact of anti-fouling coating selection over a specified service life cycle, including the cost-benefit analysis completed.
Hindmarsh, project leader at Intertrac Vision, explains: "Hull coatings play a key role in the profitability of ships, so an accurate understanding of the return on investment before purchase is also key to decision-making. With this state-of-the-art tool, we bring a new level of transparency and choice to the industry, working with our customers to ensure that every ship in its fleet chooses the most efficient and suitable coating solution. The
technology from Intertrac Vision took more than four years to develop. The work was led by AkzoNobel scientists and was carried out in collaboration with leading academic and business institutes, including University College London's School of Energy, MARIN (Dutch Maritime Institute), Newcastle University and more than 30 shipowners and ship operators worldwide.
Tristan Smith, a lecturer at University College London's School of Energy and a co-contributor to Intertrac Vision, added: "Our aim is to lead the industry into a new era of sound, rigorous analysis that helps to improve rationality in the selection of hull coatings. This helps shipowners make the right decisions with more information based on key variables that affect the performance of anti-fouling coatings. Oscar Wezenbeek, General Manager,
's Marine Coatings business, commented on the launch: "Intertrac Vision is a ground-breaking digital solution that makes better choices for our customers. We are proud of our sustainable innovation performance and the performance and sustainability benefits we bring to our customers. Combining reliable theoretical understanding with ever-changing real hull performance data helps us predict comprehensive performance. In fact, with intertrac Vision's support, AkzoNobel offers all the anti-fouling technologies that customers really believe in. "
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