Ecospeed hard coating yields positive results for Rotterdam fast boats

Watertaxi Rotterdam (WTR) has replaced various antifouling coatings on its fast river craft with Ecospeed and monthly hull-cleaning. Limited by local law in terms of the type of coatings the company can choose, WTR applied Ecospeed after attempting various other technologies.

Rather than relying on antifouling, which is hard to apply and prone to scratches, Ecospeed relies on regular hull cleanings, administered in this case by WTR’s own staff.

“We have always used traditional antifouling coatings on the hulls,” said Hans Loos, Director, WTR. “There are a lot of restrictions on what you are allowed to use. We looked into how to make it as environmentally optimum as possible, but it's really rather difficult to find the proper system,” he continues. “We tried with some other systems, like a foil, but it really was a disaster. It came off and it didn't work. With the fast-going vessels we tried just an epoxy coating without the antifouling, because we are able to clean the ships very easily. That was also not really a success. Now we are trying Ecospeed, and it looks like it's the coating that fits us best,” concludes Loos.

Tasked with replacing all of its 15 fast boats with electric models, WTR says that it will continue to use Ecospeed hard coatings from now on. “The coating is very well bonded to the hull and it’s easy to clean. So we are very satisfied with the product,” says Loos. “The fact that it is non-toxic is very important to us,” adds Loos. “We’re really interested in doing it right.”