For as long as ships have been sailing, owners and operators have fought a battle against fouling, which occurs when animal and plant growth accumulates on the hull of a ship. Removing the build up of fouling has been time consuming, labour intensive and expensive.

Costly effects of fouling

It’s little wonder so much effort has been put into dealing with this problem - fouling represents several problems for the shipping industry, and increased frictional resistance is probably the most expensive one in today’s operations. An unclean hull means more friction when moving through water, requiring more power to maintain speed and significantly increasing fuel costs.

The build-up of fouling on a ship’s hull, in addition to driving up fuel costs, can also cause problems related to cleaning and invasive species being transferred across marine environments. When ships spend longer periods idle the problem with fouling increases rapidly, especially in warmer waters and coastal areas.

Historically the battle against fouling has employed many methods, and the most commonly used today is specialised antifouling coatings. For the most challenging operations, however, today's solutions haven't fully succeeded. This has forced owners and operators to spend a lot of money and effort on inspections and cleaning.

The Jotun solution to a centuries-old problem

Jotun Hull Skating Solutions delivers a permanently clean hull and helps ship operators combat early-stage fouling, significantly reducing fuel costs, greenhouse gas emissions and the spread of invasive species.

The Jotun Hull Skater is an underwater robot that is installed onboard the ship. It can be operated remotely by a Jotun Skate Operator, assisted by an onboard Skate Operator Assistant. The Jotun Hull Skater can move over the ship's entire hull, inspecting the hull and if needed removing the first build up of fouling before it becomes a problem.

Jotun Hull Skating Solutions is a holistic approach to battling the effects of ship fouling and is designed for the most challenging conditions.

Proven results

Jotun’s Hull Skating Solutions delivers quantifiable results when it comes to operational and cost savings. The above graphic estimates expected fuel and CO2 savings compared to the market average over a 5-year docking interval. Based on moderate industry parameters, the savings added up to $3,207,600 and 25,000 tons of CO2. That C02 emissions saving is equal to the emission from 2500 cars in 5 years.

It also reduces the environmental impact of a shipping operation. In fact, two of the most pressing environmental challenges in the shipping industry today are greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and the transfer of invasive species through biofouling.

By keeping an always clean hull, Jotun Hull Skating Solutions has been proven to greatly reduce a ship’s fuel consumption, and by extension, GHG emissions. And because the cleaning most often takes place in the current body of water, the chances of transferring invasive species reduces dramatically.

The bottom line

Jotun Hull Skating Solutions adapts the newest technology to solve one of the oldest problems in shipping. It delivers an always-clean hull and helps ship operators combat early-stage fouling, as well as significantly reduce fuel costs, greenhouse gas emissions and the spread of invasive species.