Jonathan R. Matias, Chief Science Officer of Poseidon Sciences Group, presented a paper at the 12th Annual World Congress of Ocean-2024 (WCO-2024) held at Aloft Novena Singapore. The paper explores the historical basis for the red color used on underwater hulls and how modern understanding of barnacle behavior challenges this tradition.

Historically, ancient Chinese shipbuilders used copper plates, while the Greeks used lead plates to protect hulls from barnacles and other fouling organisms. In 1761, the British Royal Navy pioneered the use of copper plating to prevent shipworms (Teredo navalis) and barnacles from damaging ships. By the 1840s, coatings containing high concentrations of cuprous oxide were developed, becoming a mainstay of the marine coatings industry by the 1860s.