Countries illegal to sail into with copper paint?

[Creedence]

You can’t buy it there or apply it there. Doesn’t mean it can’t be brought on your boat’s bottom there.

Nothing like embracing the freedom of cruising with manufactured crises like this.

[S/V Illusion]

Originally Posted by Jamme

Are you sure? As I understand it, Washington state has recently passed a bill delaying a quasi-total ban on copper antifouling which was supposed to go in effect this year:

http://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/bienni...%20WM%2020.pdf

Not the first time a west coast state has suggested that but I was referring specifically to the OP’s implication that some unidentified country bans it.

[Bill Seal]

What state or country is crazy enough to ban cargo ships?

[Dsanduril]

Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Holland all have regulatory structures for antifouling that range from somewhat difficult to a “ban”. To the best of my knowledge Sweden is the most restrictive. Their structure is based on surface water concentrations of copper and zinc, and related restrictions on antifouling. On Sweden’s west coast there are 28 approved antifouling products, some with reasonably high copper content. On the east coast there are 16 approved products, all with moderate to low copper and zinc content. And in the Gulf of Bothnia there are zero approved antifouling products. Does that equate to a “ban”? If your boat is habitually moored in that area there are no copper/zinc containing products authorized for application on a leisure boat.

AFAIK if you are visiting on a boat that is habitually moored outside that area you are allowed to have whatever antifouling is allowed in your habitual mooring area. Don’t count on that as legal opinion though, just my very limited understanding.

Some dated, but still somewhat relevant reading:

Antifouling for Leisure Boats in the Baltic Sea

Swedish Chemicals Agency - Anti-fouling Paints

Nordic Environmental Law Journal 20017:1

[WoodenKetch]

Nobody is going to haul out every visiting boat to do a scratch and sniff of the bottom paint. They may ban selling certain paints in their stores, but that will not affect foreign boats that are transiting the area on a temporary permit.

How do you think all those panamanian flagged cargo ships visit every harbor in the world with bottom paint that never seems to need renewing?

[redneckrob]

Originally Posted by WoodenKetch

Nobody is going to haul out every visiting boat to do a scratch and sniff of the bottom paint. They may ban selling certain paints in their stores, but that will not affect foreign boats that are transiting the area on a temporary permit.

How do you think all those panamanian flagged cargo ships visit every harbor in the world with bottom paint that never seems to need renewing?

A ship that spends 90% of it's life going 20 knots has very different antifouling dynamics from a cruiser. Lack of fouling on those ships doesn't indicate use of some kind of antifouling paint not available to cruisers, especially when we're unfamiliar with the antifouling regime of a random ship we somehow manage to see the bottom of.

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by redneckrob

Lack of fouling on those ships doesn't indicate use of some kind of antifouling paint not available to cruisers...

That's pretty much 100% untrue. Commercial vessels of all sizes use the exact same anti fouling products available to you and me. And they do get foul. In-water hull cleaning on these vessels is an important aspect of ship's husbandry. Just because the cleaning doesn't occur in a place where you can witness it doesn't mean it isn't happening.

[maelduin]

Out of curiosity, how do those large ships get cleaned?

[Tayana42]

A friend of mine was a commercial hard hat diver. He spent a lot of his time cleaning ships props.

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by maelduin

Out of curiosity, how do those large ships get cleaned?

https://youtu.be/NRQsPoHD9Jw

[seandepagnier]

I was mostly concerned with scandinavian countries, however washington state and new york state are also in question.

I found swedish boating sites where they bought a special hull cleaning device for everyone to use and no one paints their bottoms with antifouling anymore. Not sure this is viable for cruisers, but they are putting them in canada now too.

https://driveinboatwash.com/case-stu...fouling-usage/

My consideration is, if locals are not allowed then it is simply unfair foreigners should be allowed. If something is genuinely unfair, then resentment will occur and eventually this can even turn to conflict. Imagine if I showed up with an AR15 in those countries? Maybe we are in the "window" where it's still tolerated, but it seems logical to assume this will not last forever. It would be very easy for them to sample your under the hull (no need to haul out) to determine what type of paint was used.

As for large ships... I got some jotun paint in malaysia, I think was $30 for 5 liters. It works perfect the whole way across the indian ocean (average speed 5 knots), no fouling. However when at anchor, it seemed not to do much. Also, the ships are more limited in where they go, so potentially they could be allowed but only in the commercial harbors.

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by seandepagnier

I found swedish boating sites where they bought a special hull cleaning device for everyone to use and no one paints their bottoms with antifouling anymore. Not sure this is viable for cruisers, but they are putting them in canada now too.

https://driveinboatwash.com/case-stu...fouling-usage/

Bwahahahaha! If you think these contraptions eliminate the need for anti fouling paint, I have a bridge you might like to buy.

BTW- They are available all over this country as well

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by fstbttms

Bwahahahaha! If you think these contraptions eliminate the need for anti fouling paint, I have a bridge you might like to buy.

BTW- They are available all over this country as well

If you run the boat through the thing 2 or 3 times a week it might let you get away without paint. But that seems a little bit impractical to me.

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by rslifkin

If you run the boat through the thing 2 or 3 times a week it might let you get away without paint. But that seems a little bit impractical to me.

Perhaps. But it still isn't going to clean your running gear. Or your thru-hulls. Or transducers. And replacing anodes? Well, of course you need a human to do that too.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by Creedence

Breaking the law?! Give me a break. This has NEVER been an issue for any country in the 20 years I’ve been boating, but now it’s suddenly tantamount to aquatic terrorism. Do we not have enough garbage to contort ourselves with that bottom paint legally applied in the country of origin needs to be litigated?? It’s a fair enough question, but the pearl clutching replies are laughable, peak-2021 nonsense. Get a life guys.

If there’s something that’s truly a problem for a country, they’ll be sure to publicize it. And if you want to go there abide by the rules.

I thought cruisers were looking for an escape from hyper-regulation, but spending some time here would be enough to make one think we’re desperate to bring it to the remote destinations we wish to explore.

Belizesailor, you have 12,000 posts which implies you’ve been doing this for a while. Can you seriously say that you’ve modified your bottom paint solution ahead of arriving at foreign ports of call so as not to “violate a law”. I have a hard time seeing someone Avoiding ablative paint because they’ll be sailing to Greece in 2 years.

Never, but Ive also never encountered a country where it was an issue. My reply was not regarding bottom paint per say, but more the perspective of the poster to whom I responded.