Why Do Russian Ships Have Red Decks?

The ocean is a harsh, unforgiving place for people and vessels alike with its relentless waves and crushing depths. But the world's navies battle more than the waves every single day. The ocean's number one weapon is corrosion, a chemical reaction that degrades metal. The U.S. Navy invests billions of dollars each year to fight rust on its ships, and it's not alone in this endeavor. Part of the strategy is painting the decks with red lead paint, an anticorrosive covering that adds a layer between the ship's metal and the potentially harmful ocean air and water.

Most navies paint over the red with grey because it helps the ship blend in with the ocean's surface and make it more difficult to see from above. Russia has taken a different approach with many of its ships, keeping their decks a bright, recognizable red. There's no confirmation as to why it has done this, although some speculate that the USSR started this tradition because red represented its communist ideals, and Russia simply maintained it. It's not a uniform design choice, as evidenced by the grey deck of Russia's Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier. The U.S. also uses epoxy-based red paint on its ships that it doesn't paint over, although it's most often used at or below the waterline. This red paint helps defend against barnacle growth and guides maintenance crews and divers.

Rust is an ongoing problem that requires unrelenting attention, and this is not only a problem for older vessels. The U.S. Navy's special destroyer, the USS Zumwalt, showed signs of rust in 2021 after less than two years at sea. Naval Sea Systems Command for the United States is always working with domestic and foreign companies to improve corrosion-control vessel coatings. The corrosion-proof advancements in paint have drastically improved over the years. In the '90s and earlier, ships had to return to dry dock for rust-related maintenance roughly every five to seven years. Now they can wait between 15 and 20 years.

When there's an area of rust that can be handled at sea, sailors will simply scrub it off and cover it with Ameron PSX-700, a paint that sells for $250 a gallon. It's not just the ships that are at risk of corroding, either. Don't forget that there are helicopters and fighter jets on aircraft carriers. They might not come into contact with the ocean in the same way a ship does, but the sea spray and salt air affect their surfaces, giving navies another collection of equipment they must be mindful of. If not for the various methods of combatting corrosion, ships wouldn't last as long as they currently do. Aircraft carriers and submarines with a shelf-life of more than 50 years? Forget about it.