Traditional hull cleaning operations using divers with brushes are prohibited within Rotterdam’s port waters due to concerns about marine pollution. However, the HullWiper technology mitigates pollution concerns through the use of adjustable water-jet cleaning and debris collection systems.
The Port of Rotterdam’s Senior Manager, Peter Mollema, said the ground-breaking technology exactly aligns with Rotterdam’s ambition to be the most sustainable port of its kind.
At a recent seminar held at the Port of Rotterdam, Ron van Gelder, Senior Advisor to the Port of Rotterdam, stressed that the port “has an eye for innovation, especially when it supports regulatory compliance”.
Van Popering said the presence of HullWiper at a “significant” port like Rotterdam would only be seen as a positive step: “The advantages speak for themselves. The versatility and value is still there, despite the drop in fuel prices. HullWiper is a positive step forward for the shipping industry in general.”
HullWiper is seeing growing interest and uptake at the ports where it operates in the Middle East, Far East and Europe. One of Northern Europe’s oldest ship owners has ordered hull cleaning in Singapore and in Rotterdam, and is implementing a policy to use HullWiper to clean all its vessels from here on. A leading scientific marine consultancy has also expressed an interest in conducting a rigorous data analysis of HullWiper with a view to putting it to their customers as an efficiency solution.
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