The main macro-fouling organisms around Singapore coastlines are green mussels, barnacles and tubeworms. The major spawning seasions of green mussels are during the Northeast and Southwest Monsoon. Heavy fouling can be observed within a few weeks especially for low activity vessels. It has been widely reported that barnacles and turbe-worms may cause a 10 to 30% increase in fuel costs. Even slime can add a couple of percentage points to a vessel's fuel consumption. Therefore an effective antifoul- ing paint system is vital to all ships in the tropical region. Traditionally, the underwater hull of Royal Singaporean Navy (RSN) vessels haven been coated with Tributyltin (TBT) antifouling paint, however as is well-known, mounting concerns as to their environmental impact culminated in the TBT ban now in place.
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