18th ICMCF - Marine Corrosion and Fouling

18th ICMCF – Marine Corrosion and Fouling is an international concern.

Between the 19th and 24th June 2016 one could see approximately 400 scientists and industry representatives coming from 37 different countries walking early in the morning towards and late in the afternoon out of the Palais des Congrès Neptune in Toulon (France) wearing blue nametags labeled with 18th ICMCF – Marine Corrosion and Fouling.

What is the ICMCF?

ICMCF stands for International Congress on Marine Corrosion and Fouling. Since its inception, the Congress has become the foremost international scientific conference on fouling and corrosion of materials in the sea. It brings together scientists and technologists from academia, industry, defense and other government organizations to present and discuss recent scientific developments in understanding and combating the fouling and corrosion of materials, structures and the performance of vessels in the marine environment.

What is the connection with Toulon?

The first ICMCF was held in France in 1964. And this year the ICMCF came back to France. It was organized by the MAPIEM Laboratory (Toulon University) implemented by Dr. Christine Bressy. Like its predecessors, this 18th ICMCF was convened on behalf of the Comité International Permanent pour la Recherche sur la Préservation des Matériaux en Milieu Marin (COIPM).

The Toulon Provence Méditerranée metropolitan area (TPM) operates a network of business nurseries and centres for general and high-tech startups engaged in a wide range of activities. They provide effective “resource centres” through which the Toulon Provence Méditerranée metropolitan area and its partners help businesses get firmly established and start to grow. TPM hopes to contribute to the development of industry solutions by supporting research and development (R&D) in the marine and offshore sectors.

Challenges of the Marine Fouling and Corrosion community

In this regard, this conference focusing on marine fouling and corrosion – two challenges facing the maritime community – is timely. It was encouraging to see industry players, the scientific community and experts from all over the world come together to address these issues in Toulon. TPM encourages local maritime companies to develop and adopt technologies, which are environmentally friendly. These include new technologies and approaches to prevent fouling and corrosion.

What topics were addressed during the 18th ICMCF?

In these 5 days, a broad variety of Fouling topics were covered. One could attend talks on “Basic and needed research on Micro- and Macrofouling”, “Novel methods to evaluate fouling”, “How to produce environmental friendly antifouling products”, as well as talks on “Marine protection and management in relation to biofouling”. The experiences and knowledge exchange, as well as the fruitful discussion on the scientific and industrial needs, took place not only during the session but one could even hear them discussing during lunch or dinnertime in one of the beautiful restaurants that the city hosts.

What are the outcomes of the 18th ICMCF?

The outcomes of this congress identify knowledge and policy gaps that are hindering the development of effective biofouling management strategies. Novel development of antifouling coatings and strategies was disseminated. New generation of effective coatings and methods to evaluate the efficacy and the ecotoxicity of such coatings are presented and will help the scientific community, companies and governmental organization to environmentally friendly and at the same time cost effective solutions.

If you are interested in the 18th ICMCF Scientific Program, including invited speakers, the session topic and the program itself click here.

Attend the ICMCF?

One of the most inspiring things that TheBlueReporters observed was the high number of young scientist and industry representatives. Thus might be due to the great possibility of ICMCF travels grants for young scientists, as well that biofouling is one key link between science, academia, and industry.

Having attended this conference TheBlueReporters would say that besides the interesting and novel science presented during the ICMCF, the ICMCF has achieved to keep a “family character”. Therefore and even though the marine biofouling community is growing each year, the ICMCF succeeds to keep its warm and friendly atmosphere.

Thank you for the great hospitality the University of Toulon and more specifically the MAPIEM Laboratory, Dr. Christine Bressy and her team!

Looking forward to the next ICMCF in Florida.