Managing biofouling in shipping – the idling issue and how it affects ship operations and profitability

This white paper takes a deep dive into why idling ships are at risk of biofouling and the impact of barnacle fouling on vessel performance. The paper is based on the I-Tech / Marine Benchmark study which reveals the substantial increase in the numbers of vessels at idle over the past 10 years. A vocal finding is also the high extent of vessels idling in so called biofouling ´hotspots´, with water temperatures above 25°C. Vessels spending the majority of their time sailing in these regions are at acute risk of excessive hard fouling accumulation.