HullWiper Delivers 100 Hull Cleans for Maersk Line

HullWiper, GAC EnvironHull’s diver-free hull cleaning technology, has completed its 100th clean for Maersk Line. The clean was conducted on the Maersk Ganges in the Jebel Ali Container Terminal, Dubai.

The HullWiper Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) is an environmentally friendly and cost-effective hull cleaning solution that employs unique brushless cleaning technology.  It uses high-pressure seawater to avoid damage to the antifouling surface on the hull. Debris is collected in a special waste filter unit and disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner. It also removes the need to employ divers, reducing operational costs and the risk to human life.

Maersk Line chose to use HullWiper as it offers an eco-friendly hull cleaning solution that also mitigates damage to antifouling hull coatings. All hull cleans undertaken for Maersk Line have been conducted in the ports of Singapore and Jebel Ali in the UAE, where GAC EnvironHull has special permission to operate the HullWiper in port waters. Its versatility is evidenced by the size of Maersk vessels that have been cleaned using the HullWiper ROV, ranging from 1,500 TEU to 14,000 TEU.

Stephan Martinussen, Maersk Line’s Head of Global Vessel Performance Centre, congratulated GAC EnvironHull on the milestone, adding: “We place a high degree of focus to ensure world class bunker efficiency and thereby reduce our fleet’s carbon footprint. Hull performance plays a key role in achieving that objective. We continue to partner with GAC EnvironHull as it uses technology that is both eco-friendly and facilitates diver-free hull cleaning of our vessels.”

GAC EnvironHull Managing Director Simon Doran says: “Maersk has been a huge support since we started up and as we have grown along the way. They have been by our side all the way, and with our improved efficiency we wish to continue to repay that support and increase the benefits Maersk vessels can reap through proactive hull cleaning.”

Interest is growing in GAC EnvironHull at the ports where it operates in the Middle East, Far East and Europe.