Effects of biofouling development on drag forces of hull coatings for ocean-going ships: a review

This review presents a systematic overview of the literature and describes the experimental methods used to quantify the drag of hull coatings. It also summarizes the findings of hull coating's drag performance and identifies the main parameters impacting it. The advantages and disadvantages of the reported methods listed in this review provide an assessment of the most efficient methods to quantify the drag performance of hull coatings. This review determines that drag performance of hull coating technology varies depending on whether the coating condition is newly applied, after dynamic or static seawater exposure. The summarized data reveal that, while several methods have attempted to quantify drag performance of hull coatings, other methods must be explored in order to accurately measure the long-term drag performance of hull coatings in conditions mimicking those that ship hulls encounter during actual voyages.