Page 14: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (May 2024)

The Path to Zero – Sponsored

EverClean

The always clean performance solution • • • •

Save fuel Reduce carbon Minimize downtime Maintain biosecurity Improve performance 2024 Decarbonizing Shipping he maritime industry is well aware of a long-standing even the most advanced coatings cannot keep a hull fouling- and challenging problem: biofouling. Biofouling is free forever, and when coatings fail, most vessels are cleaned

Tthe accumulation of microorganisms, plants, algae, or by abrasive in water cleaning methods administered by divers.

small animals on surfaces submerged in water. When present However, in recent years, a new wave of proactive solu- on the surface of ship hulls, this growth can create drag, which tions using robotics has been introduced to the market, which increases fuel consumption and carbon emissions. According provide vessel owners and managers with new options for im- to the IMO, even a thin layer of slime, about 0.5 mm thick, proving their vessel’s performance, reducing fuel consump- covering only half the hull can increase emissions by 20% to tion, and helping move our industry towards a greener future. 25%. If our industry hopes to radically reduce the amount of EverClean, a service of Greensea IQ, one of the ? rst of these emissions, we simply have no choice but to address hull foul- solutions to market, challenges the current paradigm of hull ing differently than how we do today. cleaning by supplying regular, in-water maintenance by ad-

Biofouling is, of course, not a new problem. Humans have vanced subsea robots that have proven safe for many coatings. been contending with the effects of biofouling for as long as By regularly maintaining vessel hulls, EverClean can keep the ships have been in the water, before written records. As far hulls always clean, allowing vessel owners and managers to as we know, we have used materials such as coal tar, animal achieve not only a better-performing hull but also reduce fuel hair, tallow, wax, lead, and copper sheathing to make hulls consumption for the entire lifetime of their coating.

slicker and more resistant to fouling accumulation. Today, we

Coating Thickness Levels Maintained have advanced coatings applied to hulls to help reduce the growth and presence of fouling on hulls, but we know that In Greensea IQ’s Advanced Coating Test Facility, EverClean

All images courtesy of Greensea IQ

Above are test plates from Greensea IQ’s Advanced Coating Test Facility 14 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • May 2024

MR #5 (1-17).indd 14 5/3/2024 9:51:10 AM