Judith Fergus obtained her BSc (Hons) in Applied Chemistry in 1990 at the University of Northumbria. Judith has over 30 years of experience in marine, protective coatings and fire proofing serving Shipping, Oil and Gas and Infrastructure, handling research & development, business development and sales with global companies. She joined Brookes Bell in October 2019 as a Managing Coating Consultant.

Her areas of expertise cover a range of investigative, managerial and paint product development in the Marine and Protective Coatings industry. Judith worked in the technical operations department of a major coating manufacturer for many years.

During her career she has investigated and reported on a wide range of issues related to paint failure and loss of performance such as:

• Liaising with ship owners, contractor and yards regarding product selection and issues
• Inspection of fouling and hull damage both at yards and at anchorage
• Failure of paint in cargo holds, chemical tanks and ballast tanks
• Cargo contamination by previous cargoes adsorbed onto paint surface
• Visual deterioration of cosmetic finishes due to staining, UV and discolouration
• Paint damage due to aggressive cargoes
• Investigation of paint failure due to application issues or coating selection e.g. cracking, detachment, blistering, chalking and softening
• Collection of appropriate forensic evidence e.g. photographs, paint flake samples, on-site measurements, blister fluid, amine bloom samples etc
• Understanding of complex analytical test reports