Our business / Jotun Marine Coatings
Jotun’s premium antifoulings, combined with
digitalised data services and related technologies,
make it possible for vessel owners and operators
to reduce fuel costs, comply with regulations and
improve their environmental performance.
Jotun Group Report 2021 I 13
Riding the waves
A decline in newbuilding orders has slowed Jotun’s growth in the Marine Coatings segment
but improvement in the drydock and seastock markets may signal better business conditions
going forward.
The global pandemic has disrupted the shipping industry,
creating challenges for Jotun Marine Coatings in 2021. Rising
steel prices have depressed newbuilding orders and soaring
freight rates have encouraged many owners to postpone
scheduled maintenance to keep vessels in service. At the
same time, Jotun’s work to implement price increases was
not enough to keep pace with high raw materials costs.
Despite these market obstacles, the organisation performed
well in a difficult year, thanks in part to Jotun Coating
Advisors, who often worked under challenging conditions
during lockdown periods.
MITIGATING BUSINESS RISK
Jotun’s focus on the seastock and drydock business in select
markets helped to offset losses in the newbuilding market.
Jotun’s global presence also enabled the company to mitigate
business risk. For example, positive growth in the Middle East,
South East Asia and Turkey partially compensated for some
of the losses the company experienced in West Europe and
North East Asia, two of Jotun’s most important markets.
With global supply chain disruptions likely to persist into 2022,
the shipping industry is also facing increasingly strict global
and regional regulations on emissions. To help customers
meet this challenge, Jotun has taken steps to develop
digitalised data services and related technologies that make it
possible for owners and operators to reduce fuel costs, comply
with existing and pending regulations, and improve their
environmental performance.
FOCUS ON SOLUTIONS
Data-driven services include Hull Performance Solutions
(2011), Jotun Voyager (2017), Jotun Hull Skating Solutions
(2020) and Jotun HullKeeper, a programme introduced in 2021
that enables customers to take full control of their operations
through hull monitoring, fouling risk alerts, inspections and
advisory services. While Jotun will continue to develop quality
primers, antifoulings and topcoats, these digital solutions
help strengthen Jotun’s leadership role in hull efficiency
management that will be an increasingly important factor in
the industry’s efforts to decarbonise in the years ahead.