Anti-fouling Systems

Antifouling paints are used to coat the bottoms of ships to prevent marine organisms such as algae and molluscs attaching themselves to the ship's hull, which if unchecked, will slow down the ship and increasing fuel consumption. In the early days of sailing ships, lime and later arsenic was used to coat ships' hulls, until the modern chemicals industry developed effective antifouling paints using metallic compounds.