Hyundai Heavy Industries has signed an agreement with Hyundai Merchant Marine and Jotun to ensure cleaner, more efficient and greener vessel hull performance and optimal environmental protection.
On December 8, Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), which controls 10% of the global new construction market, has signed a MOU with container line giant HMM and marine coatings supplier Jotun to use its Hull Skating Solutions (HSS) on a number of new vessels.
This technology, launched by Jotun at the beginning of the year, consists of HullSkater, which adheres to ships and gently deletes all biofouling, the SeaQuantum Skate antifouling, and proactive condition monitoring using a proprietary big data algorithm tailored to the needs of individual vessels.
According to Geir Axel Oftedahl, Jotun's Director of Business Development, HSS is "the ideal combination for vessels facing the toughest biofouling conditions and perfect for protecting new builds in the outfitting and testing phases."
Biofouling is in fact an important problem that affects ships that are inactive for long periods. But, HSS is able to clean the hulls before biofouling forms, eliminating associated drag, fuel consumption and emissions, protecting ship linings and safeguarding ecosystems from potentially invasive species seeking to populate them. HSS's unique robotic cleaning units are controlled by specialized Jotun operators via 4G connections.
A joint effort in the name of sustainability
"HHI and HMM have understood the importance of the problem of biofouling and are committed to better environmental protection by signing a unique MOU. The innovative technology will be used to tackle the biofouling challenge simply, effectively and with minimal disruption and maximum impact. We believe this is a new way of working for a new generation of forward-thinking owners and shipyards and we are happy to be involved in such an important industrial project", said Morten Sten Johansen, Regional Marine Director, North East Asia.
HHI is currently committed to building a series of state-of-the-art 16,000 TEU container ships for HMM and the HSS technology will be used to ensure that the ships meet environmental key performance indicators, keeping hulls clean, pristine coatings, providing optimum efficiency and limiting any potential release of biocides. The HullSkater will move from hull to hull during the main stages of outfitting.
In addition, HMM has stated that it is committed to building an entire sustainable fleet that will allow the company to achieve zero CO
2 emissions by 2050. "Jotun's solution is perfect for achieving this ambitious project", commented Jong-Chul Choi, Executive Vice President of HMM.
Oh-Min Ahn, HHI's Executive Vice President, further added: "Sustainability is at the heart of our business and we are focused on partnering with pioneering owners and suppliers to pave the way for a cleaner, greener industry that can set sail towards achieving IMO's decarbonization goals. It will be very interesting to see HullSkater solve the biofouling problem once and for all. We are convinced that this development can significantly contribute to changing the future in the marine coatings market."
Jotun estimates that
if all ships facing severe biofouling problems adopted the proactive HSS approach, marine CO2 emissions could be reduced by at least 40 million tonnes per year.