Green hull cleaning

HullWiper Ltd has partnered with HullWiper Korea, based at the Korea Maritime and Ocean University in Busan, to offer environmentally sustainable and quick hull cleaning to vessels calling at the country’s main ports.

“Extending the HullWiper family into Korea makes perfect sense,” said Simon Doran, HullWiper MD. “Korea has industry leading new-build shipyards and is a major location for all types of shipping from RoRo to LNG. Supporting our Principals with the option of another location increases our global footprint and helps them reach their sustainability targets.”

Saves time

By deploying two remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) simultaneously, HullWiper saves time for ship owners and operators as cleaning can be performed in half the time needed for a single ROV. HullWiper Korea has also designed and developed the Esther, an eco-friendly vessel to transport the two ROV units to ports in Busan, Ulsan, Pohang, Masan, Jinhae, Yeosu and Gwangyang. The combination of the fast-moving Esther and the two ROVs enable a Cape Size vessel’s hull to be cleaned within eight hours.

Hull cleaning in South Korea is highly regulated to prevent illegal operations that contaminate local waters with biofouling.

All pollutants removed during a clean with HullWiper’s ROVs are collected by a unique onboard filter unit for safe disposal onshore. The system uses adjustable seawater jets as the cleaning medium, instead of brushes or abrasives, to minimise the risk of damage to coatings. Removing fouling from vessels’ hulls results in optimal performance, fuel savings, energy efficiency and reduced CO2 emissions, and avoids the expense of recoating in case of damage.