With the development of global trade and connectivity, the ecological footprint is increasingly significant, and accordingly, awareness of the consequences of human activity on Earth is rising. Maritime trade, as the leading method of trade, exchange of goods, and transportation of people, is one of the main polluters. The goal of today's efforts and research is to reduce this footprint and increase the efficiency of ships. Fouling and corrosion of ships are some of the main problems faced by the maritime industry, as they have catastrophic financial and ecological consequences. This paper focuses on the phenomenon of fouling and the fight against it. Recently, significant advances have been made in the development of new, unconventional antifouling coatings that reduce fouling with a reduced amount of biocides while simultaneously increasing the efficiency of ships in navigation. In the experimental part of the thesis, multiple samples protected by different coating systems were compared, focusing on studying the efficiency and quality of antifouling coatings. Insoluble matrix antifouling coatings and self-polishing coatings were used. The efficiency of the antifouling coatings was assessed based on the results of field testing on the island of Pag, while corrosion resistance was determined through testing of samples in the Laboratory for Material Protection at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture, University of Zagreb.