SHIPBUILDING & EQUIPMENT CORROSION PROTECTION: SHIPS’ PAINT & SURFACE TECHNOLOGY

Hull performance management

and biosecurity by cleaning

Underwater cleaning with cavitation

EMISSION REDUCTION Hull performance is a key factor in emission reduction and fuel economy, and can
ensure biosecure global maritime transport. Especially on underwater parts which are exposed to currents, hull
performance is crucial, writes Dr Burkard Watermann from LimnoMar, the Laboratory for Aquatic Research and
Comparative Pathology in Hamburg.

S
hipping companies are eager to op- with their products by AIS. When ship- intense shipping activity. The companies
erate their vessels keeping fuel con- owners run out of the assumed profile due offer hull inspections and cleaning with a
sumption low. A key factor for this is to extended lay-up periods e.g., off South range of techniques, skills and efficacy. As
hull smoothness which is essential to fuel American or West African ports, which antifouling paints like self-polishing co-
economy. Antifouling paint specifications cannot compete with the actual challenges, polymers (SPCs) and controlled depletion
can be tailored according to the profile of the hull will foul, the liability expires, and polymers (CDPs) are not designed to be
the vessels indicated by the shipowner, in- the shipowner hires a diving company to cleaned with brushes, an essential reduc-
cluding employment, speed, activity level, clean the hull. Unintended changes to a tion in film thickness and service life of
lay-up periods, fouling risk and water char- ship’s profile lead to the common practice the paint may occur if the fouling is to be
acteristics. of cleaning antifouling coatings when foul- thoroughly removed. Up to now, no stand-
The liability of paint companies given ing exceeds the biofilm stage. ards or common guidelines exist to gauge
on the basis of these data and assuring A worldwide network of underwater the various stages of fouling, the paint con-
the good performance of the antifouling hull-cleaning companies – some with di- dition and the release of removed fouling
is closely tied to this trading profile. Paint vers; others using robotic technologies – is organisms, paint particles and dissolved
companies can easily survey vessels painted present in most major ports and regions of biocides [2].

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 Reactive cleaning strategies that bags inside remotely operated vehicles less than adhesion strength of anticorrosive
Reactive in-water cleaning or treatment is (ROVs) display a restricted volume and paints such as epoxys, but was still strong
used to remove or treat biofouling (mac- have to be changed frequently during the enough for the fouling not to be removed
rofouling) from unmanaged or poorly cleaning process. Filtration units are quite by currents in service. As the biofilm alone
maintained vessels, or in areas where anti- effective and can retain particles as small as induced an increased friction which result-
fouling coatings (AFCs) have failed or be- just a few microns. The capture of dissolved ed in higher fuel consumption, the com-
come damaged. Macrofouling is more dif- biocides is rare and implemented by only a pany Jotun published an article to address
ficult to remove and may contain a diverse few companies. these misconceptions [7]. Furthermore,
range of organisms that are reproductively Regarding the release of biocides as silicone-based foul release coatings contain
mature [4]. a result of cleaning, scientific literature is extruding silicone oils, hydrogels or waxes
As mentioned above, the reactive limited. Some cleaning companies claim to which may be depleted after two years,
cleaning or cleaning on demand is com- apply such careful cleaning techniques that which could explain why some companies
mon practice even when the liability ex- no biocides are released, they claim. How- have limited their performance guarantee
pires to save fuel and money. Many anti- ever, serious investigations undertaken by to no more than two years.
fouling products and self-polishing paints the US Navy show that an immediate bio- Biofilm formation and the decrease in
are not designed to be cleaned and have cide release is certainly a strong possibility performance led to a requirement to clean
permeable surfaces so that biocides can and should be taken into account. During foul release coatings regularly. Diving com-
leach out whilst in service, leading to a tests, the US Navy recorded strong concen- panies developed soft tools to avoid coat-
soft consistency that is prone to abrasion. trations of copper as underwater hulls were ings damage. But early cleaning is evidently
Cleaning companies apply rotating brush- cleaned. The concentration declined down much easier, faster and less critical for the
es, hydro-jetting, blades and hand-held to the ambient harbour concentration in condition of the coating. Paint companies
brushes or pads to remove the fouling. distances of 10m to 50m [3, 6]. have published lists of approved diving/
A hull of a vessel is not homogeneous- cleaning companies using techniques which
ly fouled. The plane surfaces, flat bottom Reactive cleaning on biocide-free do not cause damage to coatings [1]. Thus,
and shoulder might by covered by slime foul release or hard coatings it is possible to use silicones and clean them
whereas the stern, boottop and vertical A couple of foul release coatings based on proactively or reactively in line with the
sides may expose filamentous algae scat- silicones were offered with promises of fuel recommendations of the paint company.
tered with barnacles or other encrusting savings of 7% to 8%. It turned out that those The advantage of cleaning foul release
organisms. Most underwater hull cleaning savings could seldom be achieved except on coatings rather than hard coatings is the
companies undertake an inspection and, high-speed ferries or vessels with a high ac- low adhesion strength, which can allow the
if possible, select different tools for each tivity level. In most cases, during the first removal of macrofouling organisms like
fouling stage and type. Rotating brushes year of operation, a biofilm developed and barnacles without scraping away outer lay-
have the disadvantages of getting clogged later macrofouling became evident. The ers of the coating. On hard coatings based
by algae and acting like sanding tools if adhesion capability of these organisms was on pure epoxid, for example, barnacles >
they accumulate shell debris from barna-
cles in between their fibres. Hydro jetting
and cavitation techniques are hard to man-
age regarding collection of removed foul-
ing organisms and paint particles although
some systems now automatically collect
waste material for appropriate disposal
ashore. Where vessels have their hulls
cleaned alongside, waste material is some-
times collected in bags or filtration units
on the quay or in an adjacent barge.
Instead of shore-based cleaning, ship-
based devices can be installed in different
ways on the vessel, which should be han-
dled and managed by the crew. Ship-based
mobile cleaning enables operators to select
proactive or reactive cleaning independent
of the port infrastructure and at remote
mooring stations.
If cleaning companies claim not to
damage the antifouling coating, scientifi-
cally sound studies reveal hat 20 to 30µm
of the upper paint layers of CDPs are often
removed, with the leached layers leading
to a refreshing of the paint. Regarding the
collection of removed fouling, it is evident Demonstration of low adhesion of fouling on durable hard coating

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 SHIPBUILDING & EQUIPMENT CORROSION PROTECTION: SHIPS’ PAINT & SURFACE TECHNOLOGY

can only be removed by scraping the outer biofouling management programme. Pro- Conclusions and points of discussion
paint layers to which they adhere tightly. active in-water cleaning or treatment, also > Biofouling management plans are in
Hybrids of epoxid and silicones which known as hull grooming, is considered best force at country level, state level or
display both hardness and foul release practice for ongoing hull maintenance. have become the responsibility of lo-
properties can be cleaned at extended in- The process has been developed to cal regulatory bodies like port author-
tervals without damaging the surface. manage biofouling and prevent the build- ities or lower water authorities;
up of slime to optimise vessel operational > A global regulation by IMO may take
Underwater inspection and efficiency and to prevent the accumulation at least another ten years;
determination of cleaning cycles of any further biofouling [4]. > There are templates for different types
Prior to each underwater cleaning exer- This proactive technique performed of cleaning strategies which should be
cise, a ship’s hull can be inspected either by on biocide-free, hard coatings has several compiled and may be condensed in
divers or drones. In manual inspections, advantages. No waste such as fouling or- direction of the IMO recommenda-
the clarity of the water is a crucial factor. ganisms or paint particles is generated and tions to achieve acceptance;
The quality of images or videos of under- therefore no collection or filtration proce- > Reactive cleaning on biocidal anti-
water surveys is highly dependent on this dures are necessary. There is no immediate fouling paints which are not designed
factor. In turbid waters with high concen- release of biocides (visible like plumes or to be cleaned may remain critical with
trations of suspended matter, divers may clouds of dissolved biocides or paint par- regard to paint damage and biocide re-
be restricted to feeling a ship’s hull to see ticles) and a minimal risk of alien invasive lease, and they deserve sophisticated
whether fouling is present. Up to now, no species. collection, filtration, flocculation, pre-
technique is available except for plant via This technique is restricted to vessels in cipitation facilities to avoid the escape
fluorometry, to detect faunistic fouling. service with short port calls, high activity of paint compounds and organisms;
As drones require clear water, they must levels and high service speeds. > Sophisticated collection systems are
resist currents running parallel to the hull Until now, grooming seems not to be also required for reactive cleaning on
to maintain their position for the time re- appropriate for vessels with low activity, biocide-free hard coatings to avoid the
quired. extended lay-up periods in ports or moored escape of marine organisms;
This is necessary for the inspection of off the coast. In regions of high fouling risk, > Proactive cleaning and grooming at
niche areas including sea chests, bow and it is necessary to groom every week or de- the biofilm stage is the easiest and
tunnel thrusters and stabilising fins. Most velop an effective fouling sensor which quickest technique with the lowest
drones can easily move forward and back- should regularly scan hull sections for foul- risk of damage to coatings over many
ward but are not equipped with vectored ing development. Thus, grooming or, bet- cycles;
thrusters. Furthermore, to inspect the flat ter, cleaning on demand may be applied. > Standardisation, certification and ap-
bottom, especially for areas of the hull In marine regions with short fouling proval of cleaning techniques are lack-
with previous docking blocks, uncovered seasons, relatively low water temperatures ing even though there are numerous
by antifouling paints or foul release coat- and drifting ice in winter time, a type of hull cleaning companies operating in
ings, control of drones can be complicated. grooming has been in practice for decades. many of the world’s major ports;
Some argue, therefore, that inspections un- Ferry lines in the Baltic Sea, for example, > Monitoring systems should be put in
dertaken by divers are still superior to those are faced with regular drifting ice in win- place, where hull cleaning takes place,
of drones. ter which can remove antifouling paint for the monitoring and measurement
and sometimes the anticorrosive paint as of efficacy including the release of
Foul prevention strategies well. On the eastern side of the Baltic Sea, paint particles (microplastics) and
Different cleaning strategies are used to the fouling risk is limited due to low salin- biocides and the retention of adult vi-
maintain biocide-free hard coatings such ity and lasts for only about four months. It able organisms, larvae and spores;
as silicone coatings, glass fibre enforced is common practice to coat the hull with > The efficacy of all hull- and coating-
epoxy, epoxy-silicone hybrids. abrasion resistant coatings and control the related cleaning procedures should
fouling development by divers using rotat- be recorded in the biofouling record
Grooming or proactive cleaning ing brushes. book and the requirements harmo-
A fundamentally different approach in Another example is the coopera- nised.
relation to cleaning on failing antifoul- tion between Ecosubsea and Wallenius-
ing paints consists in the fouling preven- Willemsen. As a research project, two ve- References
[1] International (2012): Intersleek Underwater Cleaning,
tion strategy of “grooming”. “Underwater hicle carriers are coated with test patches Revision 8, May 2012, 4pp.
grooming, as used refers to the gentle, which are to be cleaned at each port on the [2] Intertanko (2016): INTERTANKO Guide to Modern An-
tifouling Systems and Biofouling Management, 20pp.
habitual and frequent mechanical main- ships’ itineraries. So far, cleaning has only [3] MARAD (2012): In-water hull cleaning summary re-
tenance of submerged ships’ hulls in or- been carried out in Southampton, but was port. US-DOT-Maritime Administration, 50 pp.

der that they remain free from extraneous also due to be undertaken at Bremerhaven [4] MPI, (2018): Guidance document for the Craft Risk Ma-
nagement Standard for Biofouling, 31 pp.
matter such as fouling organisms and par- and several Japanese ports on the ships’ [5] Tribou, M., Swain, G. (2010): The use of proactive in-
water grooming to improve the performance of ship
ticulate debris, with minimal impact to the schedule. Port installations for vehicle car- hull antifouling coatings, Biofouling, 26:1, 47-56.
coating“ [5]. riers offer the advantage of plenty of quay [6] Valkirs, A.O., Davidson, B.M., Kear, L.L., Fransham, R.L.,
Zirino, A.R., Grovhoug, J.G. (1994): Hull cleaning of
Proactive in-water cleaning or treat- space for cleaning, collection and filtration ablative copper antifouling coatings. Tech. Doc. 2662,
80pp.
ment is used to reduce the accumulation of equipment. Container terminals, on the
[7] Wallentin B. (2011): The illusion of fuel savings. Naval
microfouling (slime) on the vessel as part of other hand, do not. Architect, 7/8, 16-20.

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