Economic and environmental impacts of antifouling coatings used on the fishing boats in Turkey

Biofouling on a ship hull increases the ship resistance and, consequently, the fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emission. Inadequate antifouling strategies may waste a significant amount of fuel and thus aggravate the profitability of the fishing boats, while resulting environmental problems. This study aims to investigate the economic and environmental impacts of different antifouling strategies with a focus on the fishing boats in Turkish fishing regions. A time-dependant biofouling growth model and the boundary layer similarity law analysis were adopted to predict the added resistance due to the fouling on the hull with different antifouling strategies. In addition, life-cycle analysis and life-cycle cost analysis were performed to estimate the economic and environmental impacts.