SOLUTION / PUBLIC SOURCE RECORD
Shipshave grooms ship hulls in transit
- Published 17 October 2022; updated 21 September 2026; estimated reading time 2 minutes. Listed as available; Shipshave says it is moving from start-up to scale-up. Listed under Maritime / Ship design and ship’s equipment.
- Shipshave’s ITCH is a semi-autonomous hull-cleaning robot deployed underwater from a winch on a ship’s foredeck. It uses energy from the vessel’s movement, follows a defined pattern and uses soft brushes with interchangeable heads for microfouling or macrofouling. The crew deploys it while underway; an onboard video camera records cleaning and can support diver-free inspection and condition documentation for port authorities. The company describes the system as lightweight, plug-and-play and installable without engineering changes to the vessel.
- The article says early biofouling increases hull friction, fuel consumption and spread of invasive species. It cites DNV’s estimate that cleaning can produce average fuel savings of 8–10% in cold climates and more in warm climates. A DNV assessment from December 2021 on a 200-metre bulk carrier is linked; the article does not reproduce its detailed measurement results.
- Because cleaning occurs during transit, the page says ships avoid schedule interruption and dedicated trips to cleaning ports. It cites severe fouling as potentially reducing vessel speed by more than 10% and raising fuel consumption by over 40%.
- Market context describes a merchant fleet of nearly 54,000 vessels of 1,000 gross tons or more as of 2021 and maritime-trade growth forecast at 2.4% for 2022–2026; those are historical figures/projections. ITCH came to market in early 2021 for professional vessels.
- Contact: Richard A.G. Tjøsvoll, Chief Sales Officer, Richard.tjosvoll@shipshave.no. Company: SHIPSHAVE AS, Professor Olav Hanssens vei 7, 4021 Stavanger, Norway; shipshave.no. A phone-number reveal control is present.