Why are ships painted red on the bottom?

I always wondered why are ships painted red on the bottom. I did a lot of research to find out. here is what I found.

The paint on the bottom of many boats is called ‘bottom paint’ or anti-fouling paint.’ The coating is designed to prevent or at least slow the growth of organisms that try to attach themselves to the hull. This coating does not usually come in very many colours. Red is one of those limited colour choices. 

Anti-fouling paint is applied to a ship’s bottom to slow the growth of marine life on the hull below the waterline. These are the barnacles, algae and other marine growth that attach to the hull. Also, anti-fouling paint serves the function for minimizing the corrosive effects of seawater on the hull.

A common chemical compound added to anti-fouling paint is cuprous oxide. Copper-based paints tend to tint red. Hence, the bottoms of many ships take on a dark reddish hue after anti-fouling paint has been applied.

Ships are treated with anti fouling paint up to the water line to prevent the growth of marine creatures and plants that will eventually reduce the fuel efficiency a clean hull provides.It was always red lead but new chemical treatments have kept the colour red as a tradition

Three varying reasons- why the Bottoms of ships and boats are painted RED!

1. It’s anti-fouling paint.

It used to be that the radish colour was from rust, and then after they began cladding hulls with copper as an antifoul measure, this also appeared radish, until it developed a patina.

On newer ships, it’s all paint. The paint contains antifouling compounds, no longer just copper, as there has been significant concern for copper leeching into the oceans and raising toxicity for ocean flora and fauna.

This paint serves a tertiary purpose of making the ship’s bottom easier to both see and identify problems when divers regularly inspect the vessel.

These inspections are mandated by both governments and insurance companies. It’s easy to see how an orangish red is preferable to a black or dark grey when you’re under water and your vision is partially obscured.

2. Tradition:

Tradition is one of the answers. Shipping is a tradition-oriented industry, and as you may be aware, all ships are referred to as “She” in accordance with an old nautical tradition. However, tradition is not the only reason for painting the ship’s bottom red; there is also science to back it up.

The reason for this can be traced back to the early days of sailing ships, when wooden sailing ships would travel slowly around the world, and the combination of their slow speed and rough hull made them an ideal breeding ground for underwater growth. Just look under a pier to see the type of growth that these ships used to face; we’re talking about barnacles, worms, seaweed, and other microorganisms.

What is the problem with such growth on the ship’s hull, you may be wondering? This muck, on the other hand, not only degrades the vessel’s structure but also increases drag. That means the ships won’t be able to move as quickly as they could, or they’ll have to use more fuel to get through the water.

3.Red colour is a Contrast to the Sea

Nowadays, special ship-protecting ingredients (Anti-fouling coatings) can be added to any type or colour of paint. However, the hulls are still painted red in order to honour and maintain an old nautical tradition.

Another reason is the contrast of the red hull to the sea water, which shows if the ship is overloaded. The deeper a ship enters the water, the more cargo it carries, and the red colour is the demarcation line (Plimsoll line).

In the same vein of ‘contrast,’ passing-by helicopters can easily capture the red colour at sea in the event of an emergency.

Can I colour it with different shade?

Well, yes. It is also true that you can have ship bottom paints of different colour (like white, red, blue etc), but those tend to use water soluble biocide like Sea-Nine, or zinc acrylic co-polymer resins that at best have a service life of 3 years.

Don’t touch those fluoropolymer coatings if your vessel is coming to stay in a tropical environment.

What was outlawed around 2000 was tributyl tin, which is an excellent biocide that gave us marine anti foulings that lasted 7 years but caused problems with marine life.

Antifouling can come in almost any colour now. The copper biocide has little to now effect on colour any more and hasn’t for at least 20 years. Red coatings are just part of tradition if anything at all

Antifouling can come in almost any colour now. The copper biocide has little to now effect on colour any more and hasn’t for at least 20 years. Red coatings are just part of tradition if anything at all

If you are using boat for fishing then use RED bottom paint

What colours do fish see the best?

We can’t say exactly what fish see because no scientist has ever been able to communicate with one to find out, but we can make educated guesses. The basic conclusion is that different colours will attract different types of fish depending on the type of fish, time of day, transparency of water, weather, and possibly even time of year.

That being said, here are some ideas for those of you who really want to attract the fish:

• Red – If you’re diving up to 6 metres, red will be visible to fish, but will quickly lose its vibrancy if you go any deeper. If you want to stay incognito, go for red on your deep dives.

Why are Soviet ships red?

Well, most military ships are painted in that color, so it should be no surprise.

Sometimes, the word “red” is used a synonym of “Soviet”. But it’s not like Red Army was actually wearing red, they just fought under a red flag.

You’ll only see Soviet ships actually painted red in computer games, where units are visibly marked with their faction’s color. That’s the way people used to do it back in the day when they fought with muskets, and having easy visibility was considered more important than camouflage or cost. Modern armies, including armies from the start of USSR, actually wear drab, hard-to-see colors.

Why are ships red below the waterline?

The bottom part of ships, that you normally see in red colour, is also called the boot top area. Although reddish tint is the most common, the paint applied in this area is also available in other shades e.g.grey, blue, black, pink, brown etc. depending on manufacturer and composition.

For most people the shades of brown and pink would appear as darker and lighter shades of red after a while.

The underwater and boot top area of vessels is painted with antifouling paint, which prevents marine growth like barnacles from attaching to the submerged hull (area underwater).

Currently all anti fouling paints for ships have to be in compliance with IMO requirements and cannot contain tin compounds.

Now as to the question why they are mostly red. That is just a tradition arising out of the practice of protecting wooden hulls with copper plates since around 18th century. Also this area is more prone to rust due to continually being submerged and raised in and out of water. On red/brown painted hull, the surface rust is not easily visible from a distance and hence it looks aesthetically better.

Imagine the confidence that will be built in crew and public upon sighting a white ship with huge rust stains on its sides!!!