Il 
interreg 
Baltic Sea Region 
JROPEAN 
36I0MAL 
5VELOPMENT 
aD. 
” COMPLETE PLUS 
need to be given to not impair their function. Fouling-release coatings applied to ships require a 
sertain speed and utilization rate to generate their “self-cleaning”, inactive periods or long idie 
times facilitate the attachment of biofouling (Department of the Environment and MPI 2015). 
Furthermore, biofouling growth may not be prevented optimal when there already is microfouling 
attached to the ship and modifies the coating surface or when the surface is damaged due to e.g. 
abrasion (Department of the Environment and MPI 2015). 
Fouling release coatings, which are highly susceptible to abrasion damage, can only be cleaned 
safely with soft- or non-contact methods (Holm et al. 2003). For instance, there is a 
recommendation for cleaning the water line by high volume, low pressure fire hose and underwater 
with high pressure freshwater fan-jet lance or by hand cleaning with a rubber squeegee or high 
porosity sponge. Currently there are only few suitable mechanical systems available for cleaning 
silicone fouling release coatings (Department of the Environment and MPI 2015). 
2.2 Polymers 
Plastics in the marine environment are subjected to fragmentation into microplastics (MPs) by 
various processes (Dibke et al. 2021). Next to other factors, shipping is one relevant source for 
the input of MPs in ocean waters by fragmenting paint coming from AFS used on commercial 
vessels (Gaylarde et al. 2020). ‘Plastics’ are defined as a wider range of polymers (Sundt et al. 
2015). They may contain polyurethanes, polyesters, polyacrylates, polystyrenes, alkyls and 
epoxies (Gaylarde et al. 2020). The particle size mainly ranges from 1um-5 mm (Watermann & 
Eklund 2019). 
Latest studies assess 3300-16225 metric tons of paint losses into the marine environment yearly 
for the EU with a 25% share of polymers. Thereby, paint particles abrased from ships probably 
contribute the second largest amount to marine MPs of all possible sources (Dibke et al. 2021). 
Since they have an ecotoxicolgical effect to the marine life but there is no restriction of using 
polymers for ordinary plastic products in place, studies highly recommend including ship abrased 
polymers in microplastic research (Dibke et al. 2021). 
3 In-water cleaning {IW3) 
In conclusion of the aspects and environmental risks, mentioned above, there are also certain 
preconditions that need to be fulfilled to consider the permission of IWC in the Baltic Sea Region. 
3.1 Preconditions for the permission of IWC 
Existence of a Biofouling Management Plan (see 3.2) 
Existence of a Biofouling Record Book (see 3.2) 
Accessibility and cleanability of hull and niche areas 
Cleanability of the coating according to the manufacturer’s specifications 
j5