ANTIFOULING PAINTS AND VOCs

How many tons of antifouling paints and specific primers are sold worldwide every year?

There is no single official public global figure because the sector is fragmented across:

• antifouling coatings for commercial shipping,
• yachts and recreational boating,
• offshore,
• aquaculture,
• primers and tie-coats specific to marine coating systems.

However, based on the most credible industry reports, it is possible to build a fairly realistic estimate.

Antifouling paints: realistic order of magnitude

The most frequently cited market sources indicate:

• global antifouling market ≈ USD 9.5–10.6 billion/year in 2023–2025
• historical reported volume:
o approximately 84,000 tons/year in 2014
o projected to exceed 130,000 tons/year by around 2030

Considering:

• growth in the shipping sector,
• increased dry docking activity,
• offshore expansion,
• growth in yachting and aquaculture,

today the actual global consumption of marine antifouling paints alone is likely in the range of:

110,000 – 160,000 tons/year

with Asia dominating (~70% of global volume).

Primers and tie-coats specific to antifouling systems

Here the volume is much higher than many people imagine.

Marine coatings reports indicate:

• more than 140 million liters of marine primers used globally in 2023

This includes:

• ballast tanks,
• anticorrosive coatings,
• deck coatings,
• offshore,
• industrial marine applications,

not only antifouling primers.

If we narrow the scope to:

• epoxy primers,
• sealers,
• tie-coats,
• adhesion coats,
• primers specific to antifouling systems,

the plausible worldwide estimate becomes:

250,000 – 450,000 tons/year

because:

• many conventional systems use 2–4 primer coats,
• primer thickness is often greater than the antifouling layer itself,
• consumption of anticorrosive epoxy systems on large vessels is enormous.

Realistic combined total

Adding both categories:

Category	Estimated tons/year
Antifouling coatings	110,000 – 160,000 t
Specific primers / tie-coats	250,000 – 450,000 t
Total marine coating system related to antifouling	360,000 – 610,000 t/year

From an environmental perspective, the largest impact is often not the final antifouling coating itself, but rather:

• epoxy primer solvents,
• evaporated VOCs,
• amines,
• thinners,
• overspray,
• waste management,
• shipyard abrasion.

This is precisely where a completely solvent-free and biocide-free system can truly change the industrial paradigm because it eliminates:

• a large portion of VOC emissions,
• ATEX/fire risk,
• operator exposure,
• occupational safety issues under legislative frameworks,
• a significant portion of shipyard environmental costs.

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What is the share in ITALY?

Although Italy is very strong in boating and yachting, it represents a relatively small share of total global antifouling volumes because most consumption is concentrated in Asia (China, South Korea, Singapore) within commercial fleets.

Using a realistic industrial estimate based on:

• the European market,
• Italian yacht production,
• number of vessels,
• refitting activity,
• commercial shipbuilding,
• Europe’s share in marine coatings,

the following ranges emerge.

Italy – antifouling paints

Plausible estimate:

6,000 – 12,000 tons/year

approximately divided into:

• 55–65% recreational boating,
• 25–35% commercial shipping/naval,
• remaining share offshore, fishing, and services.

Italy carries far greater weight in premium yacht and refit segments than in bulk commercial shipping.

Italy – primers / tie-coats / associated epoxy systems

Here volumes increase substantially because:

• almost all traditional systems involve multiple coats,
• anticorrosive epoxies are applied at high thicknesses,
• professional shipyards operate with significant material consumption.

Realistic estimate:

15,000 – 35,000 tons/year

including:

• epoxy primers,
• undercoats,
• tie-coats,
• adhesion promoters,
• anticorrosive systems associated with antifouling cycles.

Total Italy related to antifouling systems

Category	Italy estimate
Antifouling coatings	6,000 – 12,000 t/year
Associated primers / tie-coats	15,000 – 35,000 t/year
Total coating cycle	21,000 – 47,000 t/year

Translated into solvents/VOCs for traditional systems:

• many epoxy primers range between 250–550 g/L VOC,
• tie-coats approximately 350–650 g/L,
• additional thinners further worsen the balance.

This means that in Italy:

several thousand tons of VOCs per year

may be released into the atmosphere from the marine coatings sector alone.

And this is exactly where a technology that is:

• solvent-free,
• biocide-free,
• free from traditional epoxies,
• odor-free,
• ATEX-free,

can deliver a major environmental improvement.

In fact:

• copper primarily affects the sea,
• VOCs simultaneously affect:

o workers,
o shipyards,
o surrounding communities,
o air quality,
o fire and explosion safety,
o occupational safety regulations,
o the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED),
o industrial emissions,
o ESG/CSRD objectives.

This is the real future regulatory driver for the sector.