Rising sea temperatures could be a particular problem for navies in the South Pacific. Hull corrosion and biofouling could worsen, pushing up maintenance and fuel costs, weakening ships structurally and decreasing their availability. While such effects are increasingly documented in scientific literature, they appear to be overlooked in defence planning—particularly in the South Pacific, where they are intensifying more rapidly due to regional climate dynamics. One complication that particularly needs investigation in the rapidly warming South Pacific: anti-fouling coatings are themselves sensitive to temperature and pH level, so scientists think the materials’ effectiveness will decrease. Government-funded climate security research in the South Pacific often overlooks these phenomena.