Savvy shipowners are treating their vessels like super athletes-making marginal gains that increase commercial performance to the tune of £38 million over a five-year docking cycle. The shipping industry has seen huge technological changes in the past 10 years to help cut costs, including shark-skin coatings, air lubrication and self-cleaning vessels.
But now shipowners, like Olympic athletes, are fine-tuning in a bid to shave off 0.25 percent to help improve performance, say industry experts. AkzoNobel scientists explain the hull cleaning challenges facing the shipping industry. A clean ship using AkzoNobel products can still save £38 million over a five-year docking cycle. A dirty hull can cause to burn 40% extra fuel and emit an extra 27,000 tonnes of CO2.