Shipshave emerged as the winner of the coveted Most Innovative Proven Technology Award in the inaugural SNIC Innovation Awards for its cutting-edge in-transit cleaning of hulls (ITCH) solution that removes biofouling to boost fuel efficiency and decarbonisation during a voyage.
The keenly contested prize was among 3 technology awards that were handed out at the Singapore Norway Innovation Conference (SNIC) 2023, with the theme Innovate to Zero, hosted annually in Singapore by the Norwegian Business Association Singapore (NBAS).
According to the award citation Shipshave earned the accolade for having “the most innovative commercial-ready and implementable solutions or products proven to impact the maritime industry through improving operational efficiency, sustainability or decarbonisation”.
‘Strong endorsement’
The Stavanger-based company was chosen among a strong field of candidates for the award by an expert jury including Innovation Norway’s technology advisor Per Christer Lund and DNV Maritime’s Regional Manager South East Asia, Pacific & India, Cristina Saenz de Santa Maria.
The award was presented by NBAS President Leonard Stornes, who headed the jury to Shipshave’s Regional Sales & Marketing Director – APAC, Charlie Lim.
Shipshave’s CEO Aage Hoejmark said “We are extremely honoured and delighted to have secured this award, which represents a strong endorsement of our unique low-cost solution to reduce biofouling en-route, thereby contributing to cleaner hulls with less drag to cut fuel consumption and emissions.”
He stated that ghis was a well-deserved recognition of the work done by the team together with their partners and early adopters, and that Innovation Norway and the Norwegian Research Council also deserved an honourable mention for having contributed to the funding of the ITCH development.
Shipshave’s ITCH solution is a semi-autonomous hull-cleaning robot that could be deployed by the crew from a portable winch mounted on the forecastle deck.
The robotic tool harvests propulsion energy to stay attached to the hull and uses soft brushes to swipe the hull up and down underwater. An integrated video camera on the device makes it possible for real-time monitoring of the hull cleaning process and post-cleaning inspection via the ITCH digital application.
