SleekShip is an EU-funded project through the Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.
Since 2020, a consortium of partners (Subsea Tech, qcell, TWI Hellas, M.Danchor and Danaos Shipping), prevalent in the fields of engineering, robotics, marine services and shipping, has joined forces to bring about a solution that addresses marine biofouling and its chain reaction on the shipping industry and the environment. The SleekShip core mission is to develop a new inspection and cleaning method capable of eliminating the undesirable accumulation of biological matter on ship hulls during the early stages and in turbid port waters.
For decades now, marine biofouling has had a significant role in the hydrodynamics of ships, dramatically increasing water resistance, fuel consumption, carbon dioxide emissions, and the transference of biofouling organisms. So far, the absence of an effective way to assess and control marine biofouling while ships are at sea, leads to costly suspension of operations for ship owners and operators. Moreover, if ships are not inspected frequently, they will suffer from severe marine biofouling and will require the implementation of harsher cleaning methods. Yet, these methods are no longer suitable since they are proven to damage the protective coatings on ship hulls.
The SleekShip inspection and cleaning system against biofouling consists of a semi-autonomous underwater vehicle, a hyperspectral camera and a cavitation-based cleaning tool. Additionally, the system provides accurate biofouling measurements that were impossible to collect until now with the conventional visual inspection due to light backscattering caused by waterborne particles in dock waters. Thanks to SleekShip, early biofouling detection can be conducted within port waters without any issue or violations of IMO regulations. It’s worth noting that SleekShip is estimated to achieve cost reductions that exceed 3 billion euros within five years from the system’s introduction to the shipping industry.
In 2022, it is clear that smart cleaning systems and alternative fuels will determine the course of the international shipping industry since they can help us reduce our carbon footprint. SleekShip, being part of the sustainability movement, is ready to offer a safe, efficient and easy-to-use method that can bring about the energy and digital transformation of the maritime sector and bring us closer to a net-zero future.