Why do ships have the bottom half of their hull painted red?

Question

Why do ships have the bottom half of their hull painted red?

In: 4566

Answer 1

As others have pointed out, its anti-fouling paint, BUT…they could make it a different color. It’s red to stand out so people can see when the ship is loaded or unloaded, to tell if its at the proper level.

There are ballast tanks that can add or pump-out water to change the weight, plus they can move it around to level out the ship.