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UNDERWATER COATINGS
Coating and cleaning underwater sections of vessels’ hulls — including niche areas — will help to ensure the ship is operating efficiently and not fouling the environment
COVERING A NICHE SUBJECT
David Loosley Secretary General and Chief Executive Officer, BIMCO
Late last year, BIMCO issued an industry note advising that cleaning a ship’s submerged parts from barnacles and other growths, while the ship is in the water, can transfer invasive species to local marine environments unless it is properly cleaned and the debris is captured. To combat this problem and to provide clarity and quality assurance to shipowners, ports and government authorities, BIMCO and the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) published the first industry standard on in-water cleaning of ships. “This standard will help protect the environment in the port. Not only that, it will also help every organisation that is part of this process by raising the minimum standard of cleaning several notches higher and ensure that the end result is both a clean ship, and safe working practice,” said David Loosley, BIMCO secretary general at the time of its release. Organisms growing on the ship increase its drag through the water and can reduce fuel efficiency of the ship by as much as 35%, leading to higher fuel bills and higher
C L E A N S H I P P I N G I N T E R N A T I O N A L – S p r i n g 2 0 21
CO2 emissions. It is therefore important to remove the growths every couple of years, BIMCO claimed. A number of countries and regions have put biofouling management high on the agenda, with regional and national regulation on the drawing board or already in place. This includes the US, Australia, the Baltic Sea region, New Zealand, Hawaii and California. John Stawpert, ICS manager (environment and trade), added: “This new industry standard establishes a benchmark for safe and environmentally sound underwater hull cleaning, an issue that is of increasing concern to the international community. “We hope that this first step by industry bodies will allow cleaning companies to demonstrate that their products protect the marine environment and that shipowners can be confident that their ships are cleaned to a safe and effective level around the world. “With these industry standards, port authorities can also have confidence
