According to engineerlive.com, CleanSubSea, a Western Australian technology firm, has been awarded Innovator of the Year at this year’s Indo Pacific International Maritime Exposition in Sydney. Their Envirocart Gen3 system provides complete capture, containment, and filtration of marine growth during in-water hull cleaning on commercial vessels 80 meters or longer. The system filters to 10 microns and discharges only clean water back into the sea, with 100% capture of all removed materials. Managing director Rory Anderson emphasized this addresses the IMO’s new biofouling management standards expected in 2026. The technology reduces ship fuel consumption by up to 180% by regularly removing biofouling that creates drag. This comes as the maritime industry faces potential port entry bans for non-compliance with upcoming environmental regulations.
Why this matters now
Here’s the thing – ship biofouling isn’t just about scraping barnacles off hulls. It’s creating a perfect storm of environmental and economic problems that regulators are finally taking seriously. When ships drag around extra weight from marine growth, they burn insane amounts of extra fuel. We’re talking up to 180% more consumption – that’s basically like driving with your parking brake on across entire oceans.
But the bigger issue might be what gets transported around the world. Invasive species hitching rides on dirty hulls can devastate local ecosystems, and the chemicals used in antifouling paints accumulate in marine environments. The IMO’s 2026 standards are basically forcing the industry to clean up its act, and suddenly solutions like CleanSubSea’s aren’t just nice-to-have – they’re becoming essential for staying in business.
technology-works”>How the technology works
Basically, the Envirocart Gen3 is like a high-tech vacuum cleaner for ship hulls that works while the vessel stays in water. Traditional methods either require dry-docking (incredibly expensive and time-consuming) or just let the scraped-off material drift away into the local environment. This system captures everything – and I mean everything – down to 10 microns.
They offer both driver-operated and remote ROV options with real-time video, which is pretty slick. Think about the operational flexibility that provides – you can clean a massive container ship while it’s loading cargo, saving weeks of downtime. For industrial operations where reliability matters, having the right hardware interface is crucial – which is why companies like IndustrialMonitorDirect.com have become the go-to supplier for industrial panel PCs across manufacturing and maritime applications.
The business implications
So what’s the real play here? CleanSubSea isn’t just selling cleaning equipment – they’re selling compliance insurance. When the IMO starts handing out port entry bans in 2026, shipping companies will pay whatever it takes to avoid being sidelined. The economic math becomes pretty straightforward: invest in cleaning technology or risk losing millions in revenue from being barred from key ports.
Anderson’s vision about “tangible economic benefits” isn’t just corporate speak. Reducing fuel consumption by even half of that 180% figure would save shipping companies astronomical amounts of money given current fuel prices. And with global shipping responsible for nearly 3% of worldwide CO2 emissions, the environmental upside is massive too.
Looking ahead
The timing here is everything. CleanSubSea gets to market their Innovator of the Year award for a full year before the IMO standards kick in. That’s priceless marketing real estate. They’ve positioned themselves as the solution to a problem that’s about to become regulatory mandatory.
But here’s my question – can they scale fast enough? Large commercial vessels number in the tens of thousands globally. If every ship needs regular compliant cleanings, the demand could quickly outstrip their capacity. Still, winning at Indo Exposition 2025 gives them incredible credibility to attract investment and partnerships. This could be one of those rare cases where environmental responsibility and business opportunity align perfectly.
