Aju Business Daily

SEOUL --An eco-friendly water-soluble paint developed by Samsung Heavy Industries, one of South Korea's three leading shipbuilders, and Chugoku Marine Paints (CMP) of Japan has been applied to a liquefied natural gas carrier under construction.

Samsung Heavy said on Wednesday that the new water-soluble paint maintained green features while showing high rust-proof performance and adhesion as well as a significant reduction in drying time by improving the shortcomings of existing paints.

Samsung Heavy's research institute head Shim Yong-rae said the shipbuilder would increase the use of eco-friendly paints by 60 percent of its total paint use in 2024. "Through this, we will comply with environmental regulations and enhance product competitiveness."

Harmful air pollutants emitted from shipyards come mostly from volatile organic compounds used in solvent-based paints. As an alternative, solvent-free paints have been recommended, but it's been difficult to use them for commercial ships because of high viscosity.

In November 2018, Samsung Heavy's research team teamed up with Jotun, a Norwegian chemical company, to develop an eco-friendly solvent-free coating technology that was used for an LNG carrier.