This process is called biofouling -- and it's a big problem for the shipping industry. To combat biofouling, technologies such as special coatings on ships and cleaning led by teams of divers are commonplace. JotunJotun has developed the HullSkater, a 200-kilogram (440-pound) magnetic crawling robot that removes the early stages of fouling. Getting ahead of biofoulingBy cleaning biofouling at an early stage, "we remove it before it becomes a problem," explains Geir Axel Oftedahl, Jotun's business development director. The HullSkater, which took over four years to develop, was designed to help decarbonize the shipping industry.

Source: CNN December 17, 2020 01:41 UTC