Across Europe and surrounding regions, many vessels have been in service for more than a decade. While engines and navigation systems are frequently upgraded, interior luminous signage often remains stuck in a previous era: some graphics no longer match the latest IMO catalogue, and many luminous materials have severely faded, leaving only a yellowish background. Owners are reluctant to schedule large refits solely for signage upgrades, yet they worry about being labeled as having “outdated safety markings” in PSC, insurance and asset evaluations.
Roll-based IMO glow in the dark tapes and photoluminescent marine IMO symbol signs stickers offer a practical path for gradual renewal. Depending on fleet size, companies can centrally purchase 0.62 / 1.24 m × 45.7 m luminous rolls and tapes of various widths, and have technical departments formulate a phased upgrade plan: phase one covers stairs, main corridors, engine rooms and pump rooms; phase two extends to accommodation and storage areas.
In practice, crew can take advantage of limited windows during planned maintenance, dry-docking or port calls to apply luminous overlays on existing plates or walls and patch missing symbols. The luminous layer uses a 240 μm PVC structure with pressure-sensitive acrylic adhesive. After 10–30 minutes of exposure to natural or interior light, it can glow for hours in darkness, greatly improving visibility during blackouts, smoke events and night-time rounds.
Through this rolling upgrade approach, owners do not need to invest in a massive one-time retrofit. Instead, they can gradually bring luminous safety markings across the entire fleet up to current IMO standards, building a stronger safety foundation for future insurance negotiations, asset revaluation and potential sale.