Klaveness Combination Carriers (KCC) will expand its roll-out of the semi-autonomous hull cleaning solution, Shipshave ITCH, with five additional robots to reduce hull fouling on its fleet.
After a successful pilot of Shipshave’s solution onboard four vessels over 2021-22, KCC has confirmed an order for purchasing a further five latest generation Shipshave ITCH models.
The decision was made after analyzing the fuel performance of the four vessels operating a Shipshave ITCH, which showed improvements in fuel efficiency between 2-5%.
Close collaboration with Klaveness Ship Management (KSM), the crew aboard the vessel and Shipshave’s engineers has been essential for further developing the solution to become a fleet-wide tool for KCC.
The friction force from the vessels’ hulls is the major resistance factor in the operation of deep-sea vessels. Biofouling of the hull greatly increases this resistance, resulting in higher carbon emissions. In addition, there is also a potential biodiversity risk when transferring alien biomass from the vessels’ hulls across oceans into vulnerable regions
said KSM’s Head of Projects and Business Transformation Martin Wattum.
