Advanced Polymer Coatings: MarineLINE & ChemLINE 2026

Advanced Polymer Coatings (APC) is the manufacturer of MarineLINE® and ChemLINE® — two of the most specified high-performance tank lining systems in the global chemicals logistics industry. Founded in Avon, Ohio in 1997 by Donald Keehan, APC holds a 12% share of the world’s chemical tanker fleet and in 2025 secured major new coating contracts with Hafnia — the world’s largest operator of chemical and product tankers — and Champion Tankers, while simultaneously launching its first exterior coating product and committing to the largest factory expansion in the company’s history.

Company Overview

Advanced Polymer Coatings traces its technology roots to the late 1960s, when the Keehan family began developing composite pumps engineered to handle corrosive industrial fluids. That foundation in polymer chemistry led to the formation of Advanced Polymer Sciences, Inc. in the late 1980s — a company focused on high-temperature polymers for aerospace and military applications. In 1995, the Keehans applied their advanced materials expertise to coat their first chemical tanker with what would become MarineLINE®, and APC was formally incorporated in 1997 to commercialise the technology.

Today, Advanced Polymer Coatings is headquartered in Avon, Ohio, and operates manufacturing and technical service capabilities in the United States, with an international network of approved applicators and technical representatives covering Europe, Asia, the Middle East and the Americas. The company’s Global Marine Manager, Captain Onur Yildirim, leads its marine market development, while Jake Valadez serves as Global Industrial Manager for the ChemLINE and industrial coatings division. APC’s coating systems have been applied to hundreds of vessels and thousands of shore-based tanks across more than 25 years of field service.

MarineLINE® — Cargo Tank Coating for Chemical and Product Tankers

MarineLINE® 784 is APC’s flagship product and the recognised industry leader in cargo tank coatings for chemical and product tankers. The coating system is based on a patented cross-linked organic-inorganic polymer technology that achieves a tightly knit, virtually impermeable molecular structure through a forced hot air heat cure process applied at the shipyard or during drydock. The resulting coating provides chemical resistance to a broader range of IMO-approved cargoes than any other commercially available tank lining — including aggressive acids, caustics, solvents, inorganic chemicals, edible oils, biofuels, methanol, Clean Petroleum Products (CPPs) and Palm Fatty Acid Distillates (PFADs).

The commercial case for MarineLINE® centres on three performance characteristics that directly affect vessel profitability. First, cargo versatility: the coating’s resistance profile allows operators to carry and switch between a wider range of products than epoxy or vinyl ester alternatives, enabling longer charter contracts and access to higher-value cargo streams. Second, cleanability: MarineLINE®’s ultra-smooth, high-gloss surface significantly reduces the water, chemicals and labour required between cargo changes, compressing port turnaround time — documented cases show vessels changing cargoes up to 85 times per year. Third, longevity: well-maintained MarineLINE® tanks have recorded service lives of 10 years and beyond without full relining, supported by APC’s MarineMEND® spot repair system for minor damage. The coating is backed by a five-year insurance programme underwritten by Helvetia, providing shipowners with financial coverage on the tank lining — a differentiator no competing product currently offers.

MarineLINE® has received Design Assessment Certification from the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) and is applied across a global network of approved shipyards. The six-step APC application process — covering surface preparation, application, heat cure, spark testing and final inspection — is supervised at every stage by APC’s own coatings inspectors, ensuring coating integrity before vessels re-enter service. For terminal operators managing chemical product flows and cargo compatibility across their storage networks, the coatings specified on the tankers serving their berths have a direct bearing on contamination risk — a dynamic explored across OGSN’s coverage of specialist chemical terminal operators such as Stolthaven and the broader sustainability and asset protection agenda in tank storage.

ChemLINE® — Industrial Tank Linings for Shore-Based Storage

ChemLINE® is APC’s industrial coating family, addressing the shore-based market across tank storage terminals, ISO tank containers, over-the-road and rail transportation equipment, and process equipment at chemical, petroleum refining and power generation facilities. Where MarineLINE® is engineered specifically for the dynamic stresses of marine cargo tank environments, ChemLINE® is formulated for static and semi-static industrial containment — including secondary containment structures, concrete surfaces and equipment protection in chemical processing plants.

ChemLINE® has been in commercial service since 1969, predating APC’s corporate formation and reflecting the Keehan family’s original industrial coatings heritage. The product handles aggressive chemical storage applications where conventional epoxy linings fail prematurely, offering extended maintenance intervals and reduced relining frequency that translate directly into lower total cost of ownership for terminal operators and chemical producers. APC has appointed Hüni + Co as its sole ChemLINE® applicator in Europe for tank containers, providing a certified application route for European ISO tank operators. The ChemLINE® and MarineLINE® product ranges sit alongside competitor coatings technologies such as the Hempel Hempaline Defend 430 epoxy system in the broader tank lining market.

2025 Developments: Hafnia Contract, Factory Expansion and TriFLEX™

Advanced Polymer Coatings entered 2025 with two major contract wins and a significant capital investment programme. In January 2025, APC secured a large-scale recoating contract with Hafnia — the world’s largest operator of chemical and product tankers — covering a fleet of vessels acquired through Hafnia’s January 2022 acquisitions. Some vessels were already coated with MarineLINE® while others required replacement of existing epoxy coatings. The Hafnia contract followed two years of commercial discussions and represents one of APC’s largest single engagements. In April 2025, APC added Champion Tankers as a new client, agreeing to apply MarineLINE® to up to six IMO II newbuild tankers under construction at Chengxi Shipyard in China — with work on the first vessel beginning in late 2025 and three further vessels scheduled for 2026.

To support growing demand, APC committed to a multi-million dollar, eight-figure expansion of its US manufacturing facility — the largest single investment in the company’s 27-year history. The expansion doubles production capacity at the Avon, Ohio plant. Alongside the capacity investment, APC commercially launched TriFLEX™ in mid-2024 — its first exterior coating product, described as a direct-to-metal (DTM) formulation incorporating Nobel Prize-winning polymer technology. TriFLEX™ extends APC’s addressable market beyond internal tank linings to external surface protection, opening a new revenue stream in industrial and marine exterior coatings where the company had not previously competed. The pace of contract wins and product launches positions Advanced Polymer Coatings as an active growth business, not a static specialist — relevant context for terminal and shipping professionals tracking coating supplier consolidation in the global LNG and liquid chemical terminal market.

Company Snapshot