Halifax’s Graphite Innovations & Technology, or GIT, has inked a two-year deal to apply its new coating for ship propellers to 25 vessels owned by London, U.K.-based tanker company Stolt Tankers.
Stolt Tankers is the shipping division of Stolt-Nielsen, which was founded in 1959 and now operates more than 150 tanker ships, as well as fish farms and shipping terminals.
Founded in 2017 by AlGermozi and Marciel Gaier, GIT manufactures a suite of graphene coatings designed to prevent corrosion and improve the durability of ships' hulls, dams and other equipment subject to extreme environments.
Graphene is a carbon-based material that is 200 times stronger than steel and efficiently conducts heat and electricity. It also serves to reduce friction, in turn reducing ships’ fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
“I can’t say enough about the Stolt Tankers team and their desire to achieve their ambitious sustainability goals,” said GIT Chief Executive Mo AlGermozi in a statement. “Our XGIT-PROP puts this desire into action.
“(Stolt) were able to measure significant improvement in fuel efficiency while ensuring they help maintain healthy and vibrant oceans. GIT is honoured to partner with Stolt Tankers in supporting their green shipping activities in our oceans.”
XGIT-PROP, as GIT calls its propeller coating, is a two- or three-coat, graphene-based propeller coating that is designed to prevent the buildup of organic matter on the propeller and reduce the frequency with which the machinery needs to be cleaned. It also seeks to make the propeller quieter and more efficient.
The two-year deal follows a 2022 trial of GIT’s coating by Stolt, which convinced the company XGIT-PROP could improve tankers’ fuel efficiency and led to five other Stolt tankers being painted with the coating.
The announcement comes two months after GIT signed a deal to apply graphite coatings to the hulls of ships owned by KOTUG Canada — a partnership between Dutch corporation KOTUG International and Halifax’s own Horizon Maritime Services.
