Oct 2nd, 2018

ICOMIA has launched ICOMIA Standard 51 – 18: Acceptance Criteria Guidelines for the Finish and Appearance for Super Yacht Coatings. This brand-new document, rather than providing ‘Pass/Fail’ values, will instead serve as a structured guide to assist contractual parties in constructing their own project specific, fit-for-purpose acceptance criteria document. This Standard addresses questions for any boat refinishing purpose, not just superyachts.

ICOMIA identified that disputes frequently arose between coatings applicators, shipyards, owners, and paint manufacturers about what should be an acceptable paint finish, due to a lack of universally accepted criteria.

The Acceptance Criteria Guidelines for the Finish and Appearance for Super Yacht Coatings is designed to allow the creation of mutually-agreed, project-specific criteria, and should be used in the pre-contract stage. Paint criteria parameters and Pass/Fail values may consider any of the following client requirements: materials, products to be used, equipment, processes, timelines, application facilities and specific paint system variables. In each case, the 2018 ICOMIA guidelines provide a methodology for determining appropriate values for each requirement.

The new ICOMIA guideline provides a common framework for owners, applicators, shipyards and yacht coatings consultants to determine their own acceptance criteria for individual projects. These criteria can then be included in the coatings contract to ensure that all parties are satisfied with the outcome. This avoids disputes, which can be extremely costly when dealing with large yachts.

The guidelines support known industry standards, including ISO 11347 (Measurement and Assessment of the Visual Appearance of Coatings, produced in 2011). An updated version of ISO 11347 will shortly follow the new ICOMIA guidelines. Whilst ISO 11347 remains essential for obtaining baseline figures, superyacht paint coating criteria, parameters, and values can now be customised according to client specific requirements, materials, processes, and locations,

Click here to download the guidelines.