SANDEFJORD, Norway — Hull Skating Solutions (HSS) from Jotun is a breakthrough in proactive cleaning, offering ship owners an always clean hull in the most challenging operations. Jotun Hull Skating Solutions offers high-performance antifouling, proactive condition monitoring, inspection and proactive cleaning, high-end technical service, and performance and service level guarantees. HSS is the first solution of its kind within the maritime industry. It provides individual proactive condition monitoring services tailored for each vessel, using a proprietary algorithm and big data to accurately predict fouling development and cleaning schedules.

With a comprehensive range of guarantees and service level agreements available, HSS solves the problem of bio-fouling, helping ship owners steer a more profitable and sustainable path into the future. If all ships in challenging operations converted to HSS, this would result in a CO₂ emissions reduction of at least 40 million tons per year.

A primary component of Jotun Hull Skating Solutions is the onboard Jotun HullSkater, the first robotic technology that has been purposely designed for proactive cleaning. In combination with the SeaQuantum Skate antifouling and a set of services, the Jotun Hull Skating Solutions will help ship operators combat early stages of fouling, significantly reduce fuel costs, CO₂ emissions and the spread of invasive species.

The HullSkater

The HullSkater removes individual bacteria and biofilm before macro-fouling takes hold. This not only delivers peak performance, but minimizes the need for reactive cleaning, cutting costs, environmental risk and optimizing fleet flexibility. The HullSkater stays on the hull by the force of its magnetic wheels, each equipped with electric motors for propulsion and steering. The vehicle has several cameras and sensors, supporting the operator with data for navigation and documenting fouling on the ship hull. The specially designed motorized brush keeps the hull free from fouling without causing erosion or damage to the hull coating. The vehicle is connected to the operator’s control center through an umbilical and can be operated remotely for vessels anywhere in the world with 4G coverage. Inspection and proactive cleaning of a hull will normally take around 2 to 8 hours depending on size and condition.

Proactive Prevention

“Bio-fouling is a big challenge for the shipping industry,” said Geir Axel Oftedahl, Business Development Director at Jotun. “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.”

“That was our starting point in the conception of HSS – a desire to create a definitive solution to this pressing issue, one that wouldn’t just deal with the problem, but rather prevent it. That is what hull skating achieves.”

Business Critical

“We believe this is a landmark development for ship owners worldwide,” Oftedahl added. “Vessels are often faced with unpredictable operations, with erratic idling periods and varied operational profiles that make the selection of antifouling problematic, even for the best coatings. And once fouling grows the impacts 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.

“So, make no mistake, proactive inspections, hull cleaning and management isn’t just an operational matter, it’s a business-critical decision. As such, HSS is an essential business investment.” The unique technology has been developed over several years, with comprehensive testing taking place on vessels and at selected ports. Jotun is now in the final verification stage and is currently recruiting new selected owners to be the first to benefit from this game-changing solution. The shipping partners’ dedicated involvement and their input to requirements, design as well as providing vessels for piloting, have been key in the development and testing of the solution.