A European management consultancy, EPPA (founded in 1987), has launched a broad industry-wide petition, backed by an open letter addressed to EU Member State competent authorities and the European Commission, calling for preserving European antifouling (PT21) solutions. The appeal targets the European maritime sector, which is facing a critical regulatory challenge.
According to the initiative, current and proposed decisions on the regulation of chemical substances under the Biocidal Products Regulation (BPR) risk removing essential antifouling technologies before proven and scalable alternatives are available. Without effective biofouling management – the accumulation of marine organisms on the hull – ship operators will face higher fuel consumption, higher greenhouse gas emissions, reduced operational efficiency, and greater difficulty in meeting IMO decarbonisation objectives and complying with new macrofouling management requirements.
Simultaneous pressure on five active substances
The situation for PT21 active substances has not improved, the appeal says. Medetomidine, zinc pyrithione, zineb, copper compounds and DCOIT are all facing regulatory pressure simultaneously, each assessed in isolation, with no coherent evaluation of the cumulative impact on the toolbox. No new active substance has entered the market since the 1990s, and the development pipeline is effectively empty.
The consequences go well beyond the coatings sector. Biofouling increases fuel consumption by 10 to 40%, and an independent socio-economic analysis estimates that losing just one substance would cost more than EUR 6,941 million in additional fuel costs and 28.2 million additional tonnes of CO2 over five years. Antifouling is also a primary defence against invasive marine species, over 1,000 of which have entered European waters since the 1940s primarily through shipping.
What the industry is asking for
The petition, supported by an open letter, calls for:
- suspending pending decisions on the approval and renewal of BPR authorisations for antifouling products, until a comprehensive, science-based, cross-sector evaluation framework is developed that fully takes into account the role of antifouling technologies in the sustainability, efficiency and decarbonisation of the maritime sector;
- ensuring that no existing antifouling solution is withdrawn unless its functionality can be effectively replaced, and only after confirming the existence of alternatives that are technically viable, commercially available and scalable for all ship types and relevant operating conditions;
- integrating real-world operational experience into the regulatory decision-making process, recognising the significant differences in ship design, trading patterns, geographic biofouling pressure and performance requirements across the global shipping fleet.
The initiators invite all maritime industry associations, shipowners, operators, coatings suppliers, ports, shipyards and other stakeholders to support this call, to collaborate with policymakers and to ensure that future regulatory decisions enable both environmental protection and a competitive and sustainable maritime industry.
EPPA has previously worked with the Romanian National Association of Shipbuilders (ANCONAV) on the public consultation for zinc pyrithione and on the antifouling toolbox webinar co-organised in March with CEPE (the European Council of the Paint, Printing Ink and Artist’s Colours Industry). Those interested can support the initiative through the signing form provided by the organisers.
Prepared by ANCONAV from information provided by EPPA.