Investigation of Antifouling Paints for Vessel in Tropical Seawater of North Jakarta in Indonesia

The copper-based biocide is mostly used as primary additive of Antifouling (AF) paint in Indonesia especially on vessels. The evaluation for the efficacy of AF paint was conducted where anti corrosion (AC) paint was also as a reference. The panels with both paints were exposed to various sea depths of up to 3 meters until 12 months of exposures. The measurement of parameters of seawater consisting of water conductivity, pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen and salinity were carried out. There was no or less attached marine biofouling on AF-painted panels but not on AC-painted panels up to 12-months of field exposure in various sea depths. There was no difference between the properties of AF paints before and after exposure to various sea depths. The inhibitive performance of AF paint depends on the existence of AF layer containing Cu2O biocide where the thickness of that layer decreases in increase of time exposure.