Spectral imaging powered ship hull biofouling detection and cleaning
Marine biofouling has a tremendous economic and environmental impact; it can lead to >€1m in lost revenue per ship per year in fuel overconsumption alone. The International Maritime Organization estimates that gas emissions may increase between 38% and 72% by 2020, unless corrective measures are taken. 

The only way to mitigate biofouling is to detect it at an early stage (Level of Fouling – LoF 1), while it can still be cleaned with soft methods that do not damage hull paint or coating. With current approaches this is impossible, particularly within port waters as they are heavily turbid and inhibit visibility. Inspections outside port waters induce charter-off time that costs >€20k per day and are thus avoided by ship operators.

SleekShip comprises a Semi-Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (SAUV) carrying a hyperspectral camera that captures light wavelength bands where light backscattering is less and the slime is easier to distinguish despite contamination. The inspection can take place in port waters while the ship is docked for other operations thus no additional charter-off time is incurred. An integrated cavitation-based cleaning tool allows for 100% paint-safe cleaning.

By detecting biofouling early, ship owners will be able to achieve >€1.3m savings per vessel annually by reducing fuel overconsumption and paint/coating damage caused by hard-brush cleaning.

Our consortium comprises SubseaTech, a dynamic manufacturer of underwater robots, QCELL, a high-tech SME specialising in hyperspectral imaging, M.Danchor a leading cleaning and inspection services company, TWI, the global leader in image-based underwater inspection technologies and Danaos, a NYSE-listed containership owner.

Through SleekShip we aim to achieve sales of €41m, generating €17.9m profits and >110 jobs while helping the shipping industry save €3.4bn per year and reduce CO2 emissions by 115m tonnes over the 5 years after market launch. The Net Present Value ROI is 4:1 on EC funds with a grant.