KCC Eyes Energy Efficiency Gains with Fleet-wide Rollout of Hull Cleaning Solution Shipshave ITCH
Image: MV Ballard
Klaveness Combination Carriers (KCC) continues to leave no stone unturned in the quest for cutting CO2 emissions and seeks to further improve fleet energy efficiency by signing a Letter of Intent with Shipshave AS to implement its semi-autonomous hull cleaning solution across its fleet.
Shipshave ITCH (In-Transit Cleaning of Hulls) is the first of its kind to perform hull cleaning while the vessel is sailing, with the main objective to prevent the early-stage growth of hull fouling. A successful pilot of the solution onboard MV Ballard throughout 2021 has indicated improved fuel efficiency and given KCC sufficient confidence to expand the scope of the pilot and aim for fleet-wide rollout pending KCC’s final analysis.
“Reducing the marine growth on the underwater hull of our vessels, by applying Shipshave’s innovative solution among others, is an important part of KCC’s efforts to improve energy efficiency for substantially reducing CO2 emissions and improving the sustainability of our business,” comments CEO Engebret Dahm of KCC.
“Seeing KCC’s seafarers taking ownership of improving their fuel efficiency is rewarding,” comments Eirik Eide from Shipshave. We see an accelerating uptake from KCC and other ship owners driven by a desire to go green and the upcoming Carbon Intensity Indicator,” says CEO Rune Freyer of Shipshave.
About Klaveness Combination Carriers ASA:
KCC is the world leader in combination carriers, owning and operating nine CABU and eight CLEANBU combination carriers. KCC’s combination carriers are built for transportation of both wet and dry bulk cargoes, being operated in trades where the vessels efficiently combine dry and wet cargoes with minimum ballast. Through their high utilization and efficiency, the vessels emit up to 40% less CO2 per transported ton compared to standard tanker and dry bulk vessels in current and targeted combination trading patterns.
About Shipshave AS:
Shipshave AS is a R&D based technology company enabling the seafarers to clean and monitor hulls with low cost. In Transit Cleaning of Hulls (ITCH) is a semi-autonomous robot for hull cleaning, reducing fuel consumption and avoiding effluents along coastlines. The operational cost of ITCH is less than 5% of traditional hull cleaning, making newbuild hull performance a new standard.