What is WhaleWashing, what is a car wash for ships?
WhaleWashing is a straightforward concept, a machine for cleaning the boat hull quickly and cheaply and in an entirely ecological way. It operates directly in the water thanks to a new and innovative technology that uses only sea water to wash the hull from fouling and barnacle incrustation. No chemicals, just sea water, recycled and filtered to prevent any waste going outside in the water.
Why is it green, and why should ships have to be cleaned regularly?
The growth of biofouling on the surface of the hull of ships increases friction and therefore causes an increase in fuel consumption as well as an engine overload, that is forced to overcome the resistance of the vessel. A clean ship hull grants a double advantage: lower emissions into the atmosphere and lower fuel consumption. Consider that within a few years it will also be possible to eliminate the use of anti-fouling paints, toxic paints with a high content of biocides, highly poisonous for the marine environment.
Why is WhaleWashing innovative?
First of all, there is no such service in the market, fast and green, and it is an extremely efficient washing service, but, most importantly, ships can be cleaned more frequently between the mandatory ship inspections required every five years. The service will be provided through subscription packages of different tiers depending on the number of ships in the customer fleet. We perform the cleaning of the whole immersed hull, with ship stops of just 4-6 hours. The enormous benefits can be seen immediately for the environment and the shipowners: less pollution, lower consumption, lower costs and consequently more efficient fleet management.
Why did you come to Trieste?
Well, this is an easy question, the port of Trieste has a secular tradition, and today it is an outstanding Italian example of innovation and efficiency. It is one of the most important and advanced seaports in Italy and an important gate to the North and East Europe, with great growth potential in the years to come. Trieste is also a strategic location due to the important industrial and technical partners and has a significant research collaboration with INOGS (Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e Geofisica sperimentale).
What expectations do you have for the future?
The future is full of a thousand challenges but, we are sure to be rewarded as well : our mission is to create a global network of machines that wash ships, continually monitoring and improving commercial fleet efficiency, to limit as much as possible the maritime transport pollution on a worldwide scale. Let us remember that all the economies of the world use maritime transport for the shipment of goods, tens of thousands ships in service every day for 365 days a year. Saving only 10% of the consumption of these colossal iron whales is equivalent to avoiding the emission into the atmosphere of millions of tons of carbon dioxide and to save thousands of tons of fossil fuels.
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