Click to open image viewer. This tin patent model accompanied A. John Bell’s patent application for an “improvement in the construction of ships”—awarded patent number 148,655 on March 17, 1874. The ...

Hismar, a hull-cleaning robot developed at the United Kingdom's Newcastle University, could save the shipping industry from excess drag, fuel consumption, and pollution. In a software-driven world, it ...

Figure 1: UV-C prototype kept clean from biofouling in the harbor of Melbourne (Australia). On the left a benchmark silicone panel is located without UV-C, which is completely bio-fouled (courtesy to ...

This is the goal of a EU-funded project called HISMAR (Hull Identification System for Marine Autonomous Robotics). European researchers and engineers are working on an automated robotic cleaning ...

A small device which emits tiny vibrations from the hull of a ship is a "game-changer" in the fight to make container vessels more environmentally-friendly, its developer has said. When barnacles, and ...

Here’s a wild fact I’d never heard: Biofouling on ship hulls increases fuel consumption around 15% on average. The term specifically refers to a build-up of microorganisms and other life. That ...

Special underwater coatings prevent shells and other organisms from growing on the hull of ships -- but biocide paints are ecologically harmful. Together with the industry, researchers have developed ...