ECOsubsea to clean hulls in Singapore
ECOsubsea's containerised control station alongside a cruise ship during hull cleaning (Source: ECOsubsea)
Norway’s ECOsubsea, a hull cleaning specialist, is to deploy its remotely controlled robots to clean ships’ hulls in the Port of Singapore. The company will use its latest generation of robots which, it says, are up to ten times faster than other systems. This will allow the hulls of large ships to be cleaned as they take bunkers on board within the port.
Clean hulls make significant savings in fuel burn and emissions. The company estimates that carbon dioxide emissions can be slashed by ten million tonnes a year. The ECOsubsea setup includes collection of waste from ships’ hulls by the robots. This is delivered as special waste and can be converted into biogas.
The firm has been supported in its endeavours by a USD 3.26 million loan from Innovation Norway. The state-owned development bank provides loans to companies that have concrete plans to grow outside Norway but lack the security to be able to obtain fully fledged bank finance.
Håkon Haugli, CEO of Innovation Norway, commented: "ECOsubsea can secure a position as a global market leader in hull cleaning. The new technology facilitates far more frequent hull washing, which causes less damage to the environment and reduces greenhouse gas emissions. This is an innovative project with great potential, which can have a major impact on Norwegian value creation."
ECOsubsea CEO, Tor Østervold, said: "This loan gives us the opportunity to expand our business, bring our environmentally friendly technology to more markets and make the shipping industry more sustainable. We are proud that Innovation Norway still sees a growth potential in ECOsubsea as we now establish ourselves in the world's second-largest port."
The company, located on Norway’s west coast, has worked on developing the system for more than ten years, collaborating with shipowners, ports and environmental authorities along the way.
