The TEST Biofouling Project by IMO and Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) will demonstrate technical solutions to stop invasive species and reduce GHG emissions from ships.
The TEST Biofouling Project will run for four years, from 2022 to 2025 and is set to provide pilot projects in developing countries in order to demonstrate technical solutions for biofouling management in developing countries, address the transfer of invasive aquatic species and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from ships.
The TEST (Transfer of Environmentally Sound Technologies) Biofouling Project came after an agreement signed on 8 December by IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad). Norad funding amounts to around US$4 million.
The project complements the existing Global Environment Facility (GEF)/United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)/IMO GloFouling Partnerships Project, which aims to support its lead partnering and partnering countries to implement IMO’s Biofouling Guidelines.
The TEST Biofouling Project will focus on demonstrating technical solutions in the GloFouling partner countries. TEST Biofouling will feature some of the latest advances in technological solutions for managing biofouling, such as remote operated vehicles for in-water cleaning and underwater cameras for monitoring anti-fouling coating status. Additionally, the project will provide capacity building courses in developing countries.
IMO Secretary-General Lim, stated:
I am pleased to sign this agreement with Norad for the TEST Biofouling Project. We need to showcase solutions to today’s challenges, including preserving the oceans’ biodiversity and tackling climate change. In 2022, IMO’s World Maritime Theme will be ‘New technologies for greener shipping’, so it is particularly pertinent to launch a project which is going to focus on demonstrating just what can be done
Studies show that biofouling on ships is responsible for between 55.5% and 69.2% of the established coastal and estuarine invasive species globally.
IAS can dominate benthic habitats, pred on, compete with and disturb native communities, and displace local species. IAS have caused significant harm to the marine and coastal environment and are considered one of the leading causes of marine biodiversity loss.
Once established in a marine environment, IAS are very difficult and often impossible or prohibitively expensive to eradicate, hence prevention of introductions through good ships’ biofouling management is key.
In addition, managing biofouling by keeping hulls clean from the build-up of species can be a major contributor to reducing ships’ fuel consumption and resulting greenhouse gas emissions.
The preliminary results of a recent study on the Impact of Ships’ Biofouling on Greenhouse Gas Emissions shows that a layer of slime as thin as 0.5 mm covering up to 50% of a hull surface can trigger an increase of GHG emissions in the range of 20 to 25%, depending on ship characteristics, speed and other prevailing conditions.
The study was carried out by the Global Industry Alliance (GIA) for Marine Biosafety.
