The Superyacht Magazine

We’ve had the honour of being featured in The Superyacht’s magazine issue of March-April of 2016 and below is part of our segment.

“We see a number of new builds with fairing problems that are not necessarily down to the applicators themselves but due to the combination of ambient conditions and time pressures.

As both an independent paint contractor and a member of the ICOMIA applicators group, Ritvan Metso of Thraki Yacht Painting has a particular take both on the paint process and the new standard. “I think it is a common belief that the paint industry is directed with subjectivity,” he says, “and this ICOMIA standard is a valuable effort to balance that subjectivity. But what I have noticed is that not that many yards are able to provide all the necessary logistics in terms of facilities and climatic conditions, yet the promise for ‘the best paint job’ is there. But with this in the paint specification we can come to a middle ground where we can measure paint objectively and communicate with the owner transparently for what is the minimum achievable prior to signing the contract.”

Part of the problem stems from the conditions that paint teams sometimes have to work in, both in terms of environmental control and in terms of timescale. In fact, we all know an improvement in facilities is going to be a big plus. “It’s a painful and complicated issue, especially in the large-yacht sector,” Metso says. “I think we all, as an industry, have to encourage yards to invest in better conditions, and this would give much higher quality and quicker deliveries due to fewer paint issues during the outfitting process, and that would automatically mean happier owners.