Please select your home edition
Edition
Selden 2020 - LEADERBOARD

Marine Biosecurity - NZ industry stepping up to face biofouling challenges

by Clean Below? Good to Go 12 Dec 2021 01:55 PST 9 December 2021
Yacht maintenance at a haulout - cleaning boat bottom with high pressure washing machine © Martin Wahlborg

The biofouling industry is innovating all the time, here in New Zealand and around the world. Here are three examples of New Zealand companies coming up with solutions to combat the challenge we face.

New Zealand based Propspeed its family of foul-release products including Foulfree and Lightspeed, are developed in New Zealand and are proving to work effectively to control biofouling on propellers, shafts, struts, rudders, bow thrusters, keel coolers, swim platforms, transducers and underwater lights. Foul-release coatings use physical rather than chemical means to reduce fouling, typically by creating a surface that’s tough for marine organisms to adhere to. It's now been found that Propspeed can also be used successfully on composites such as stabilizers, composite keels and rudders.

Easy Cradle is a floating bed of soft rubber strips that form a cradle which attaches at the head of your boat’s mooring, invented by Marlborough man Art Leppens. It is an in-the-water solution to protect your boat from barnacles, marine pests and growth. Check it out at easycradle.co.nz

Coppercoat antifoul coatings are proven on 75,000 plus vessels worldwide, but it is only recently that a distributor has been appointed in New Zealand. Copper continues to be recognised as the most effective chemical element for the prevention of biofouling, however when it discharges from ablative (eroding) antifouling paints, it is shown to be harmful to the marine environment and sea-life.

Coppercoat however is classified as a non-eroding coating and is not a paint - it is a two-part epoxy impregnated with copper and is solvent-free. It is effective against biofouling for around ten years. Coppercoat is not expected to be compromised by regulatory changes in 2023. Coppercoat's New Zealand website will be live soon - in the meantime you can email

Clean Below? Good to Go shares information from time to time with boat owners about new products that are becoming available. These are not recommendations and many factors must be taken into account when considering biofouling situations. Please research carefully and consult with professionals from the industry to ensure that solutions are fit for your boat.

If you have an innovation for us to consider in a future story, please email with brief details.

Find out about marine biosecurity for boaters at www.marinepests.nz

Related Articles

49er & 49erFX Junior Worlds kicks off in Rungsted
Officially opened last night with a vibrant Opening Ceremony Today, we proudly welcome 105 teams and 210 athletes from across the globe to Rungsted for the start of the 49er and 49erFX Junior World Championship 2025. Posted today at 10:56 am
RS Feva Worlds Qualifying Series complete
Sailors split into three flights of yellow, blue, and red Two days of qualifying series with 168 boats on lake Bourget, Club Nautique Voile d'es Bains, sailors split into three flights of yellow, blue, and red. Posted today at 10:24 am
A defining finale to the Admiral's Cup 2025
Provisional results are in and the overall winner will be officially announced today At the end of the 5th day of the Rolex Fastnet Race just 7 boats in the Admiral's Cup fleet were still racing. The majority had moored up in Cherbourg and the dock was filled with sailors and supporters sharing a beer, a slice of pizza and their stories. Posted today at 9:50 am
2025 iQFOiL Youth & Junior Worlds, day 5
Upwind Sprints shake up the rankings as fleets split for the final push tomorrow in the Final Series The fifth day of the 2025 iQFOiL Youth & Junior World Championships finally brought the conditions everyone was waiting for in the Bay of Brest. Posted on 29 Jul
43 Copa del Rey MAPFRE Day 1
Italy lead three classes A promising offshore breeze which topped 14kts at times diminished as the afternoon rolled meaning only the one windward leeward race could be contested, but it was enough for top Italian teams to establish an early lead. Posted on 29 Jul
Bonafous scores her first IMOCA class win
After close battle with Charal for Rolex Fastnet Race glory The French sailor Elodie Bonafous' spectacular start to her career in the IMOCA Class continued today as she followed up second place in the Course des Caps earlier this month with her first victory in the Class in the Rolex Fastnet Race. Posted on 29 Jul
Admirals Cup: Day 8 - Match racing the last miles
The front runners in class AC1 (50fters) of the 2025 Admirals' Cup are racing gybe for gybe The front runners in class AC1 (50fters) of the 2025 Admirals' Cup are match racing as they work down the side of the last Exclusion Zone heading for the race finish off Cherbourg. Posted on 29 Jul
Fastnet Race, RS Aeros, Isle of Wight
Fastnet Race, RS Aero Worlds, GL50s, Isle of Wight circumnavigation When the conversation turns to the world's greatest middle-distance bluewater races, talk tends to linger on the Rolex Fastnet Race, which started on Saturday, July 26, and for great reason. Posted on 29 Jul
Rolex Fastnet Race Day 4
Black Jack 100 takes monohull line honours ahead of arch rivals Remon Vos' RP100 Black Jack 100, skippered by Tristan Le Brun, has taken Monohull Line Honours in the centenary edition of the Rolex Fastnet Race. Posted on 29 Jul
McIntyre Mini Globe Race Leg 3 underway
12 of the original 15 Solo Sailors take on the toughest leg of entire 24,000 mile circumnavigation. In an emotional and historic departure, 12 intrepid solo sailors set sail from Fiji, embarking on the most perilous leg of the McIntyre Mini Globe Race (MGR)—a 10,000-nautical-mile journey across the Southern Ocean to Cape Town, South Africa. Posted on 29 Jul
Armstrong 728x90 - HA Foil Range - BOTTOMBarton Marine Pipe GlandsSelden 2020 - FOOTER