GAC EnviroHull developes a remote-operated vehicle for hull cleaning
GAC EnviroHull has developed a remote-operated vehicle for hull cleaning. Harmful marine growth and residue on the hull are blasted away and collected by a robot instead of being discharged into the water, resulting in major environmental gains for the Port of Gothenburg.
To avoid an increase in fuel consumption, ships are cleaned on a regular basis. Cleaning of a medium-sized ship generates around 50 kg of waste, made up of barnacles, algae and paint residue. Hull cleaning was previously done manually using divers and anything that came loose was washed into the sea, destroying the domestic flora.
GAC EnviroHull, a company in GAC Group, working in collaboration with Frog Marine Service, has launched a new hull-cleaning technique at the Port of Gothenburg.
"Using a remote-operated vehicle, harmful marine growth and residue are removed from the hull. The cleaning water is filtrated and then taken care of by Renova," explained Simon Doran, Managing Director of GAC EnviroHull.
The robot takes just a few hours to clean the ship while it is at the quayside being loaded or unloaded.
It is not the first time Frog Marine Service is using remote-operated vehicles for hull cleaning.
“We have used a similar technique since 2008. GAC EnviroHull’s new technique is however much more powerful and the residue is collected in a more refined way”, explained Bill Söderberg, CEO of Frog Marine Service.
An automatic hull-cleaning system that collects the waste results in major environmental gains. Previous techniques involved large volumes of waste and particles being discharged into the sea.
"This is the new and obvious technique for hull cleaning. The levels of environmentally hazardous particles in the seawater are reduced," said Edvard Molitor, Senior Manager Environment at the Port of Gothenburg.
Permission to clean hulls at the Port of Gothenburg is granted by the Gothenburg Port Authority and the Environmental Administration.
