WEB EXCLUSIVE<br>The PCI Interview:<br>Robert Martin, Arch Chemicals Inc.
Marine-paint makers, biocide suppliers chart new course as marine paint marketplace heads for tin-free waters.
In October 2001 the International Maritime Organization (IMO) approved a treaty under which the use of organotin-containing marine antifouling paints would be discontinued on Jan. 1, 2003. The treaty calls for a total ban on the presence of organotin-containing marine paints on the hulls of oceangoing vessels engaged in international shipping, effective Jan. 1, 2008.
As a result, the antifouling marine-paint marketplace is undergoing a rapid transformation, with new, tin-free antifouling technologies quickly gaining volume and market share in the global marine-paint segment. In this new marine-paint world, the term “2003 compliant” means tin-free.