Cutting marine antifouling costs

Sonihull is transforming how marine operators prevent biofouling on their vessels and structures. Antifouling costs the maritime sector about $100 billion every year. Left unchecked, fouling can increase hydrodynamic drag and fuel costs by up to 60%. If your raw seawater cooling systems are colonised, main equipment can overheat and fail and you could be totally out of commission.

Cut costs and reduce downtime

Keeping vessel operating costs down, is critical to your bottom line. If you are operating with Impressed Current Anti-fouling (ICAF) systems protecting your box coolers, you could save up to 90% of their Capital and lifetime MRO costs if you replace them with Sonihull systems.

If your vessel is off-duty, due to reduced demand or lock-down restrictions, it is under attack just sitting at anchor. Coatings don’t work when you are stationary and ICAF systems will only work properly when the main systems are running. Fitting a Sonihull system will protect idle systems from biofouling and avoid the need to drydock before safely re-commissioning.

Cut costs now

Save fuel while protecting your engine

Sonihull is leading the way by transforming the way the marine industry approaches the subject of Antifouling: a $100 billion industry.

When marine growth builds upon a ship’s hull it can increase drag and fuel costs by up to 60%. When fouling builds up in the raw-water cooling system, it can destroy the main engine, and even render a vessel out-of-commission.

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Sonihull vs ICAF - Cost Comparison

Here are some typical installation costs for a 4-box cooler setup.

Costs	ICAF	Sonihull
System Cost	£10,400	£6000
Installation Cost	£3200	£400
Commissioning Cost	£3200	£400
MRO	£72,000	£3000
Total	£88,800	£9800

For commercial vessels with an operational lifespan of 15 years, the decision to switch to Sonihull ultrasonic protection becomes very easy to make. With lower capital costs and no ongoing maintenance costs for the regular replacement of expensive ICAF sacrificial copper anodes, Sonihull will save you in the region of £79k on just 4 box coolers. And this figure does not take in to account reduced drydock and downtime costs.

Fitting – safe, survey-free and no drydock

Sonihull systems can be fitted by small, isolated teams in a matter of hours. There’s no need to drydock, there’s no cutting, drilling or welding and therefore no need for Class re-surveying. This means that work can be carried out in accordance with COVID-mandated guidelines. Sonihull systems can even be fitted whilst at sea.

Limit Downtime

Drydock – An expensive business

Getting estimates for drydocking costs is an open-ended process. For coating systems alone, you have to account for stripping, coating, waste removal, and antifouling re-application. The following is an estimate for an average drydock schedule for a medium-sized cargo ship:

Average Docking Time:

10 - 14 Days

Average Docking Interval:

4 - 5 Years

Average Docking Cost:

$600,000*

*This is dependent on the size, age, and complexity of the ship and the type of regular maintenance being completed during drydocking. Losses from downtime and out-of-survey costs, like main equipment repairs and other unforeseen costs, are not accounted for.

In summary

The impact of biofouling, and the measures to prevent it, costs the commercial shipping sector somewhere in the ballpark $100 billion annually. Currently 95% of all antifouling systems rely on poisonous biocides to kill organisms that settle on surfaces – dosing the oceans with toxic biocides – this is not sustainable, and legislation is catching-up.

The Sonihull system is a zero-harm solution. There’s no toxic environmental legacy and no microplastics are shed from ablative coatings. Sonihull is the only safe solution for all marine life.

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Protect your vessel

Sonihull’s mission is to deliver environmentally safe, cost effective antifouling wherever unwanted bio-fouling persists. Our vision is:

To make dosing the oceans with poisonous biocides and microplastics a thing of the past
To deliver effective antifouling systems using the power of ultrasound
To save the oceans, one ship at a time

Testimonials

I want to thank you for your advice to install aboard my ship two SoniHull DUO… I am, after one year, really very happy with those devices. My ship, a 65 Ft steel trawler, has stayed one full year in Brunswick Landing Marina. Here everyone sends a diver every two months for cleaning his hull off the growth, so I have asked the diver to check my hull, after one year without cleaning… The guy was really amazed by the fact that my hull was still perfectly clean… Except for some barnacles on the shafts and propellers, so my only regret is not to have installed the sonic system for the shafts as well. This system is really great and super-efficient. Thanks again for this product.

Pierre – Brunswick Landing Marina, USA

After the first week, a noticeable difference could be seen, by the end of the 4th week, the results were conclusive. The vessel fitted with Sonihull had little or no growth over the entire hull, while the other vessel was found to have so much growth the vessel struggled to get on the plane. As a result of this test, Sonihull will be included in all future standard project specifications.

MTR16 Patrol Boat

Coastguard – UAE

Finally, I am proud to inform you that the first Sonihull antifouling system has been installed on one of the SAR vessel without any problem. We have installed two transducers on the intake of the water jests, one between engine & generator and another one in accommodation. After finding this project successful, many other vessels will be in the row.

Ali Karsaz

SAR Vessel- Gulf Arabian

Vigilant coming out to dry dock in Kuwait, she has been in the water for almost a year (February 2015) and is in a pretty impressive condition. There is no fouling at all.

Dean Thomas

Vigilant Patrol Boat – Kuwait

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