The second order effects on commercial shipping of restrictions on the use of TBT

Increased hull roughness reduces vessel speed and increases fuel consumption. These are first order effects of restricting or prohibiting the use of antifouling paints. Reduced transport capacity and increased capital costs are frequently recognised as second order effects of such reductions in fleet efficiency. This paper focuses on other second order effects of prohibiting or restricting the use of TBT-based antifoulings. The potential cost increases will affect high-speed vessels most severely. These vessels are the segment of the shipping industry that is most relevant to the political drive in Europe towards shifting the balance of transport of goods towards sea rather than road transport for environmental reasons. Any decision to restrict or prohibit these paints would tend also to induce a shift from local to global environmental problems, which would be more difficult to manage