Page 268 - ΝΑΥΤΙΚΑ ΧΡΟΝΙΚΑ - ΜΑΙΟΣ 2024

MARKET NEWS / SHIPSHAVE

Biofouling management and clean hulls gain increased recognition as means to reduced
cost and emissions amid the introduction of green regulations such as CII and EU-ETS.

SHIPSHAVE ITCH KEEPS HULLS

TM
CLEAN FOR FUEL SAVINGS AND

EMISSION REDUCTION

Proactive hull cleaning is proven to be firmed the ITCH cleaning process safe-
one of the easiest and fastest routes to guards hull integrity with minimal impact
improve fuel efficiency and reduce emis- on coatings, as even high-quality coat-
sions. ings still require cleaning.
Marine biofouling resulting from the A comparative analysis of different hull
build-up of micro-organisms, plants, and anti-fouling strategies conducted for
algae on a ship’s hull leads to increased the IMO's GloFouling study showed that
drag in the water that requires burning regular proactive hull cleaning of a bulk
more fuel to maintain speed, leaving carrier over a five-year period resulted in
more GHG emissions in its wake. a fuel saving of 10,000 tonnes versus a
This makes the hull of a vessel a battle- do-nothing strategy, and 4,000 tonnes
ground for efficiency, with IMO research versus reactive cleaning.
indicating a 0.5mm slime layer cover- As well as reducing fuel costs, the con-
ing up to 50% of a hull surface could sequent cut in emissions also reduces
increase GHG emissions by 25 - or even exposure to the EU ETS and aids CII com-
higher depending on ship type, speed, pliance by optimising hull performance.
and other parameters. “With the ITCH, we are redefining hull
Norway’s Shipshave is spearheading a maintenance with innovative technology
green revolution in hull cleaning with to maintain clean hulls for the sake of the
its unique In-Transit Cleaning of Hulls environment, regulatory compliance, and
(ITCH) solution that has been developed efficiency,” says Shipshave’s CEO Aage
to minimise the environmental footprint Hoejmark.
of vessels and capture potential fuel and
emission savings.
The IMO estimates hull biofouling man-
agement can cut emissions by 5-25%, a
figure confirmed by Shipshave’s experi-
ence with shipowner clients from real-life
operations with the ITCH.
The semi-autonomous hull-cleaning
robot, deployed by the crew from a
portable winch mounted on the fore-
Aage Hoejmark, CEO of Shipshave castle deck, swipes up and down the
hull underwater using soft brushes to
smoothly remove biofouling during a
voyage and maintain hull performance
For more information contact: at a relatively low cost. This also saves
Argyris Michaletos time on port turnarounds and reduces
Sales & Marketing Director - off-hire deviations to carry out traditional
Mediterranean hull cleaning.
argyris.michaletos@shipshave.no
Furthermore, laboratory testing has con-

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