SeaLife Marine Products - Enviroment - Safegaruding the marine enviroment

Antifouling paints are used to coat the bottoms of ships to prevent fouling - the growth of shell, weed or algae on any surface immersed in sea water.
Fouling, such as barnacles, tubeworms, slime and algae, significantly reduces the speed and performance of any vessel, resulting in increased fuel consumption, extended dry-docking and higher maintenance costs.
In the early days of sailing ships, lime and later arsenic were used to coat ship’s hulls, until the modern chemical industry developed effective antifouling paints using metallic compounds. These compounds slowly “leach” into the sea water, killing barnacles and other marine life that have attached to the ship. However, studies have shown the compounds persist in the water, poisoning sea life and entering the food chain.
One of the most effective antifouling paints, developed in the 1960’s, contains the organotin compound Tributyl tin (TBT), which has been proven to cause permanent damage to the marine environment. TBT has been banned globally since January 1, 2003.

WORLD WIDE MANDATORY BAN ON TBT

The International Maritime Organization (IMO), a United Nations agency responsible for improving maritime safety and preventing pollution from ships, in November of 1999 adopted an assembly resolution that called on the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC), to develop an instrument, legally binding throughout the world, to address the harmful effects of antifouling systems used on ships. The resolution mandates and makes it illegal to apply or re-apply any antifouling paint containing TBT or other organotin compounds onto any size vessel after January 1, 2003. Therefore, for an antifoul coating to be considered 2003-compliant it must be TBT-free.

SeaLife is TBT-Free, 2003-Compliant, and harmless To ALL Marine Life.
SeaLife Antifoul Paints have been specifically engineered not to leach any biocides, pesticides or other toxins, safeguarding our precious marine environment.
SeaLife has very low Volatile Organic Compounds. , making SeaLife a front runner in the quest to reduce the effects of Volatile Organic Compounds, most notably the depletion of the ozone layer and increased green house gases, conditions associated with global climate changes.
Highly effective and environmentally safe, SeaLife Antifoul Paints are a SUPERIOR solution to a GLOBAL problem.