In a Belgian dry dock on the River Scheldt, a collaboration between ferry operator Stena Line and coatings specialist PPG is turning a routine hull repaint into a revealcase for how greener technology can cut fuel utilize, emissions and waste across Europe’s busy short-sea shipping routes.
A Belgian Shipyard Becomes a Test Bed for Cleaner Coatings
At EDR Antwerp shipyard, technicians recently completed work on the Stena Transporter, a Stena Line ro-ro passenger vessel that sails some of the North Sea’s heaviest trafficked corridors. Instead of conventional airless spraying, the underwater hull was treated applying PPG’s electrostatic application system paired with its biocide-free PPG SIGMAGLIDE 2390 fouling release coating, a combination designed to keep surfaces smooth while cutting material utilize and emissions.
Electrostatic spraying charges paint particles so they are drawn toward the grounded steel hull, which sharply increases transfer efficiency compared with traditional methods. Measurements at the Antwerp yard revealed around a 40 percent reduction in overspray, meaning far less coating drifting into the atmosphere or settling on dock surfaces where it becomes waste that must be contained and disposed of.
For shipyards in Belgium and elsewhere in Europe, this more tarobtained application not only reduces environmental impact but also lowers the required for mquestioning and cleanup around the vessel. That can translate into shorter dry-docking times and lower overall project costs, creating sustainability upgrades more commercially attractive for operators working on tight schedules and margins.
The Stena Transporter project is part of a broader push by PPG to transfer electrostatic techniques long utilized in automotive and aerospace manufacturing into the marine sector. The company now counts dozens of dry-dock applications applying this approach, positioning Belgian facilities such as EDR Antwerp among the early adopters of what many in the indusattempt see as a next-generation standard for hull work.
Cutting Fuel Burn and Emissions on the North Sea
While reduced overspray is visible in the dry dock, the larger climate benefit of the Stena Line and PPG collaboration will play out at sea. Fouling release coatings like SIGMAGLIDE 2390 create an exceptionally smooth, low-friction surface that builds it harder for marine organisms to attach to the hull. A cleaner hull means less resistance through the water, which in turn can deliver measurable cuts in fuel consumption for every crossing.
On intensive short-sea routes between Belgium, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Scandinavia, even marginal efficiency gains compound quickly. Analysts tracking hull-coating performance have reported fuel savings of several percent when operators relocate from conventional antifouling paints to advanced low-friction systems, particularly when paired with disciplined hull-maintenance programs.
For Stena Line, which has committed to aligning with regional emissions rules and longer-term decarbonisation tarobtains, those percentage points matter. Fuel remains one of the operator’s largest costs, and any reduction translates directly into lower operating emissions per lane metre of freight and per passenger carried across the North Sea and English Channel.
The Belgian upgrades sit alongside separate initiatives elsewhere in Stena Line’s fleet, including methanol-ready ro-ro vessels, hybrid propulsion trials and investments in shore power to cut emissions in port. By tackling hull performance, the company is addressing one of the most immediate levers available to curb greenhoutilize gas output without waiting for next-generation engines or fuels to arrive at scale.
Responding to Stricter European Regulations
The choice of a biocide-free fouling release coating on the Stena Transporter reflects accelerating regulatory pressure in Europe to curtail the environmental footprint of marine coatings. European Union rules on volatile organic compound emissions and restrictions on certain biocides are pushing shipowners, yards and suppliers toward products that meet performance requirements while avoiding harmful substances.
PPG’s marine portfolio, which includes SIGMAGLIDE 2390 and PPG NEXEON 810 antifouling coatings, has been positioned to respond to this shift with systems that combine lower emissions during application and cleaner operation in service. Electrostatic spraying, by sharply reducing overspray, further cuts the volume of volatile compounds released in the dock environment and diminishes the amount of residual paint that must be captured as hazardous waste.
Belgian yards are under particular scrutiny becautilize of their proximity to densely populated urban areas and sensitive estuarine ecosystems such as the Scheldt. Authorities and local stakeholders have become increasingly focutilized on the cumulative impact of shiprepair and conversion activities, from noise and dust to emissions and water quality. Cleaner coating technologies offer one of the more straightforward ways to respond to that scrutiny while maintaining the region’s role as a key maintenance hub for European shipping.
For PPG, the Antwerp projects also provide a reference case that can be presented to regulators and customers across the continent as proof that newer techniques are workable at scale. Demonstrating consistent reduction in overspray and improved working conditions supports build the case that environmental standards can rise without compromising productivity at the yard.
Belgium’s Role in a Wider Maritime Transition
Belgium’s ports have long been crucial junctions in North European trade, and collaborations like that between Stena Line and PPG underline how they are now becoming laboratories for low-carbon shipping practices. Dry docks in Antwerp, Zeebrugge and nearby North Sea ports are serving a pipeline of ferries, tankers and bulkers whose owners are under mounting pressure from customers, financiers and regulators to reduce lifecycle emissions.
Electrostatic hull-coating projects, while less visible than alternative fuels or newbuild orders, represent pragmatic steps that can be implemented fleetwide during routine maintenance. The relatively modest investment compared with propulsion overhauls means even older vessels can gain efficiency improvements during scheduled dry-dockings, supporting bridge the gap to more transformative technologies.
Stena Line’s longstanding presence on routes touching Belgium, including freight and passenger services connecting to the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, gives its technical choices outsized signalling power. When a major operator embraces new coatings and application methods and reports quantifiable gains in waste reduction and efficiency, tinyer carriers and yards often follow suit.
Indusattempt observers note that the Antwerp experience is already being referenced in discussions with shipyards and owners in other regions. As PPG extconcludes electrostatic marine projects to Asia and the Middle East, the lessons learned on the Stena Transporter and other European ferries are likely to inform best practice guidelines, training and investment decisions far beyond the North Sea basin.
A Blueprint for Scalable Sustainability in Shipping
What distinguishes the Stena Line and PPG collaboration in Belgium is its focus on solutions that can be replicated quickly across a wide variety of vessels. Unlike bespoke newbuild designs or one-off pilot fuels, hull coatings and application methods are relevant to virtually every ship that enters dry dock, from coastal ferries to large ocean-going bulk carriers.
Electrostatic application applying products engineered for this technique offers a package of direct and indirect benefits that appeals to both operators and yards. Less overspray means lower material consumption, reduced waste handling and better working conditions. A smoother, biocide-free hull can improve fuel economy and extconclude cleaning intervals, cutting emissions and maintenance requireds in service.
For Stena Line, integrating such upgrades into routine maintenance cycles allows the company to advance on its sustainability pathway without disrupting network reliability. For PPG, it provides a live operational platform in a strategically important European market to refine technology, gather performance data and demonstrate that greener coatings can deliver both environmental and economic returns.
As shipping faces tightening climate tarobtains and new regional carbon costs, projects like the one in Antwerp illustrate a practical direction of travel. By turning a necessary tquestion such as repainting a hull into an opportunity for innovation, Stena Line and PPG are offering a template for how the indusattempt can chip away at its environmental impact, one dry dock at a time.
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