Paints & Coatings are immediate and damaging, with poor hull and propeller performance accounting for around one tenth of the world fleet’s energy consumption. This can make a massive impact on any owner’s bottom line.” Jotun said that the final verification stage is now in progress and the coatings company is recruiting selected owners to adopt the new technology.
Nippon Paints sign NCL contract Jotun’s Hull Skating Solutions system
Jotun introduces the Hull Skating Solutions system Norway’s Jotun AS, Sandefjord, has unveiled a new digital service, Hull Skating Solutions (HSS), which uses robotics, condition monitoring, smart alogorithms and a high performance coating to prevent hull fouling build-up, reduce fuel consumption, cut emissions and improve ship efficiency. Developed over several years, the practical system is supported by technical back-up including a dedicated project manager attending an installation docking, paint application, robot commissioning and continuing after-sales service. Jotun said that the digital system will tailor hull condition monitoring services to specific vessels, enabling the accurate prediction of fouling rates and proposing suitable cleaning schedules. The system has been developed with a range of partners including DNV GL, Kongsberg, Semcon, a robotics design and manufacturing digital specialist, and Norwegian communications company Telenor. Meanwhile it has been tested over recent months by three shipowning groups – Berge Bulk, Maersk and Wallenius Wilhelmsen – in several ports. Central to the system is an underwater robotic system, the Jotun HullSkater, which is attached to a ship’s hull through the force of its magnetic wheels and is equipped with electric motors for propulsion and steering. The device also has cameras and sensors to provide the operator with data for navigation and as well as the condition of the hull. A motorised brush
keeps the hull free from fouling without causing erosion or damage to the coating, Jotun said. The robot is connected to the operator’s control unit via an umbilical and can be operated remotely on vessels in any location with 4G coverage. The system is installed during a docking and remotely operated by a Jotun Skate Operator. This device works in tandem with the company’s SeaQuantum Skate, and anti-fouling which has been designed and thoroughly tested, the company said. Jotun claims that the HSS system can clean an underwater hull in a period ranging from two to eight hours, depending on size and condition, keeps hulls clean ‘proactively’. This contrasts with typical hull cleaning systems which remove fouling organisms from ships’ hulls when they have accumulated and are already affecting resistance, speed and performance. Geir Axel Oftedahl is the coatings company’s Business Development Director. “Biofouling is a big challenge for the shipping industry,” he explained. “It increases frictional resistance leading to speed loss and greater fuel consumption, while at the same time increasing the risk of the transfer of aquatic invasive species. It is a burden to the industry, and our planet, and demands decisive action.” Jotun has estimated that if all ships “in challenging operations” converted to HSS, there would be a total reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from ships of at least 40m tonnes annually. “We believe this is a landmark development for shipowners world-wide,” Oftedahl continued. “Vessels are often faced with unpredictable operations, with erratic idling periods and varied operational profiles that make the selection of anti-fouling problematic, even for the best coatings. And once fouling grows, the impacts
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Japan’s Nippon Paint Marine has signed a longterm supply contract with Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) to provide anti-fouling systems to 13 cruise ships operating under the NCL, Oceania Cruises, and Regent Seven Seas Cruises brands. The agreement will see the coatings specialist apply its market-leading low-friction SPC antifouling, A-LF-Sea, to six Oceania vessels, five Regent Seven Seas Cruises vessels and NCL ships Norwegian Epic and Norwegian Dawn. A-LF Sea has already been applied in 11 drydocks while three vessels, Marina, Nautica and Norwegian Epic will be coated with the hull coating during scheduled drydockings later this year. The fleet-wide contract follows the performance success of the low-friction selfpolishing copolymer applied to vessels under individual agreements. “Due to the impressive performance of A-LF-Sea in the past, we decided to broaden the scope of supply to half the Norwegian fleet with a more formal, long-term agreement,” said Carlo Paiella, Vice-President, Technical Operations for NCL. Praising the reliability and performance of the coating technology, he added, “Nippon’s technical service and world-wide supply capabilities complement the excellent fuel-saving performance we have seen from this low-friction paint. “As leaders in the cruise ship sector, we believe it is vitally important to do all we can
The Seven Seas Explorer in drydock
