Shipping is recognised as the most environmentally friendly form of transport and indeed with 70% of the world’s surface being seas and oceans separating the major land masses, it is effectively the only practical means for most goods and commodities. Even so there is growing pressure from regulators and consumers for the industry to address sustainability issues and reduce its impact upon the environment.

Sustainability has many facets but the one currently attracting most attention is the huge hurdle of cutting greenhouse gas emissions and as the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Secretary General has said: “Now is the time to initiate shipping’s energy transition to meet ambitious decarbonisation targets of the IMO’s Greenhouse Gas Strategy and to ultimately phase out greenhouse gas emissions from shipping. New technologies, new fuels, and innovation will be vital”.

Better hull designs and maintaining efficiency by keeping hulls free of fouling are some of the low hanging fruit in improving shipping’s sustainability. Developments such as Jotun Hull Skating Solutions and now Jotun HullKeeper will be at the forefront in this arena with the added benefit of reducing species transfer while making ships more efficient and reducing emissions.

Enabling better decisions, faster

At the heart of the HullKeeper Program is Jotun’s trusted analytical and technical services and digital capability. This combination enables ship operators to make well-informed and timely decisions on hull efficiency enhancing measures as they push for optimised performance, efficiency and regulatory compliance.

HullKeeper’s monitoring and prediction service identifies hull fouling at the earliest possible stage. If confirmed by the subsequent inspections, then cleaning the hull as soon as convenient will ensure that the increased fuel consumption is minimised, and the ship’s performance maintained at the desired standard.

Because increased fuel consumption due to biofouling is the cause of around 9% of the 919 million tons of CO2 and 21 million tons of other greenhouse gases emitted by shipping annually, proper control has the potential to reduce emissions significantly. While it is unlikely that the full potential of a reduction of 85 million tonnes of GHGs will be reached, even a modest contribution would be an achievement. The fuel cost saving to the owner would be an additional benefit running into very high figures.

A changing world

Jotun HullKeeper comes at a time when regulation and commercial pressure aimed at improving sustainability is increasing at an accelerating rate. This is evidenced by the IMO’s greenhouse gas ambitions, new efficiency rules in the shape of Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index (EEXI) and a new operational Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII), and developments such as the Poseidon Principles affecting ship financing.

Also, the growing concern around biofouling and invasive species at IMO and national levels has led to more owners re-thinking their current coating and cleaning strategies. With stricter regulations on the horizon, they will need to document and record what hull management measures they have taken to bring more transparency towards port authorities and other stakeholders, including charterers.

Jotun firmly believes more innovation and digitalisation will be needed to create differentiated solutions and its flow of new products and services such as HullKeeper will continue to allow customers meet the new demands, improve hull performance and make shipping cleaner and greener.