Carnival Cruise Line has signed an agreement to deploy Jotun’s Hull Skating Solution on Carnival Pride, making it the first cruise operator to adopt the robotic hull-cleaning technology, according to Carnival Cruise Line.
Carnival Pride will be the first ship in the operator’s 29-vessel fleet to carry HullSkater, a remotely operated underwater robot designed to prevent marine growth from building up on the hull.
The onboard unit uses cameras and sensors to inspect surfaces below the waterline and remove fouling at an early stage. The agreement also includes a compatible hull coating, continuous monitoring and inspections, digital performance reporting and an “always-clean hull” guarantee.
Carnival said marine growth can raise a vessel’s propulsion power requirement by as much as 25% to 30%. Propulsion accounts for about 60% of a cruise ship’s total energy consumption, making hull condition a significant factor in fuel use and emissions.
Carnival will collect operational data from Carnival Pride before deciding whether to extend the technology to other vessels. The companies did not disclose the value or duration of the agreement, and no further installations have been identified.
Jotun said the system could also reduce the transfer of invasive marine species between ports and bodies of water. DNV independently verified that vessels using the Hull Skating Solution maintained clean hulls with no measurable speed loss during the assessment period.
Stein Kjølberg, Jotun’s regional vice-president for the Americas, said the installation marked the company’s first deployment of its robotic hull-cleaning system in the cruise sector.
Carnival Cruise Line is the flagship brand of Carnival Corporation Ltd. It carries nearly 6m passengers annually and operates ships homeported in North America, Europe and Australia.
Jotun was established in Sandefjord, Norway, in 1926. The coatings group employs 10,933 people, operates 40 production facilities and has a presence in more than 100 countries.