GAC targets hull cleaning in Spain

The move into Valencia, Spain’s third largest city and one of the biggest ports in the Western Mediterranean, marks the debut of the HullWiper ROV system in southern Europe. Launched in late 2013 in the United Arab Emirates, the HullWiper Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) system is said to deliver a safe, fast and cost-effective clean hull to optimise vessel performance with minimal impact on the marine environment.

“As in so many regions around the world, there is a growing demand in the Mediterranean for safer cleaning operations,” said Simon Doran, managing director. “This is the latest stage in the expansion of our operations to help meet that demand with HullWiper’s unique features.”

Despite its compact size of just 3 x 1.5 x 0.80m, the high-speed ROV can clean up to 2,000 m² of hull per hour without causing any damage to anti-fouling surfaces, thanks to brushless technology which uses adjustable pressure water jets to remove marine fouling. As no divers are involved, cleaning can be done alongside during loading or discharging operations, and any risk to life is significantly reduced. GAC says HullWiper cleans around five times faster than conventional cleaning methods with divers, and therefore, reduces cleaning time by approximately half.

The entire process is in line with the GAC Group’s stringent Health, Safety, Security and Environment (HSSE) and compliance policies, as well as all local and regional environmental regulations. Residues and harmful marine growths captured during cleaning are disposed of in an environmentally-friendly manner instead of being discharged into the sea as done using traditional methods.

Since its launch, HullWiper has been rolled out to other countries in the Middle East, Scandinavia and the Far East. It is now being offered to vessels at Valencia, through GAC EnvironHull’s local partner, Burriel-Navarro.

Going forward, GAC says there’s potential for further expansion in Spain and beyond.