Our team of highly trained ROV and Commercial Diving professionals provide hull cleaning, hull inspection, Civil Marine Works and OPL & in-port operational services.

We are operational at all ports along the East Coast of Australia, and only provide UWI services at Newcastle and Sydney ports.

Australia’s biofouling regulations mandate that all vessel operators provide information on how biofouling has been managed before arriving in Australian waters. Compliance can be demonstrated through an effective biofouling management plan, cleaning the vessel within 30 days prior to arrival, or using a pre-approved alternative method.

For more information, please visit Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF).

We provide thorough hull cleaning, removing biofouling organisms from the hull and niche areas. Our detailed hull inspections ensure compliance with biofouling management plans, documenting the vessel’s status and providing necessary reports for the Maritime Arrivals Reporting System (MARS).

For manual intervention, our divers address specific biofouling issues, ensuring even challenging areas are cleaned effectively. Our niche cleaning services target hard-to-reach areas, meeting the comprehensive cleaning requirements outlined by Australian biofouling regulations.

New Zealand’s biofouling regulations, enforced by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) under the Craft Risk Management Standard (CRMS), require all vessels to arrive with a “clean hull” to prevent the introduction of invasive aquatic species.

Compliance involves either cleaning the hull within 30 days before arrival, maintaining continuous biofouling management practices, or treating organisms on the hull. Vessels must provide thorough documentation, including an antifouling certificate and photographic evidence of cleanings, to meet MPI’s inspection standards and avoid costly delays.

For more information please visit Ministry for Primary Industries.

We help vessels comply with New Zealand’s biofouling regulations by providing comprehensive underwater cleaning and maintenance services that meet the Craft Risk Management Standard (CRMS) requirements.

Our services include cleaning the hull within 30 days prior to arrival, conducting continuous biofouling management, and offering detailed documentation such as antifouling certificates and biofouling management plans.

We ensure thorough inspections and provide photographic evidence to support compliance with MPI standards, thereby preventing costly delays and facilitating seamless entry into New Zealand waters.

K ROV’s state-of-the-art Remotely Operated Vehicle, the Green Turtle, uses water blaster cleaning and an adjustable plow to safely remove biofouling organisms from the hull, and divers are employed to clean niche areas. This process ensures that all areas, including hard-to-reach spots, are thoroughly cleaned, maintaining the vessel’s optimal performance and compliance with biosecurity regulations.

The Green Turtle is remotely controlled from the safety of our vessel. For container and bulk vessels, we can conduct operations while cargo is being loaded and unloaded. However, there are some limitations when working with tankers, depending on the nature of the cargo. The ROV is equipped with powerful LED lighting, enabling work at any time of day and in conditions of limited visibility.

The cleaning duration depends on the vessel’s size and the hull’s condition. Typically, a vessel around 200 meters LOA can have its vertical sides cleaned in 10 hours or less, and a full clean, including the flat bottom, can be completed in 16 hours or less.

If you aim to meet New Zealand’s MPI regulations, it’s advisable to clean all flat surfaces thoroughly. We can conduct a full inspection according to MPI NZ standards and arrange for an offshore operation to clean niche areas, ensuring complete regulatory compliance. 

If your primary goal is fuel savings, cleaning the vertical sides of your vessel will likely provide the best return on investment. These areas experience the most significant soft fouling due to UV exposure, which increases the drag resistance and impacts fuel efficiency. However, in some rare cases, substantial growth on the flat bottom can also significantly affect fuel consumption, making it worth considering a full clean in those instances.

Hull cleaning should be done regularly, considering the vessel’s environment and biofouling level. Typically, it’s recommended every 6 to 12 months for vessels in biofouling-prone areas, after extended periods of inactivity and before entering regulated waters to meet biosecurity regulations like Australia’s requirement for cleaning within 30 days before arrival. Regular cleaning reduces drag, enhances fuel efficiency and ensures compliance with environmental standards.

Visual inspections utilise high-definition cameras to capture detailed images and videos of the hull surface. Ultrasonic thickness measurements assess the hull’s thickness to detect corrosion or wear. Biofouling assessments identify and evaluate the extent of biofouling on the hull and niche areas, while structural inspections examine the integrity of the hull structure, including welds and fittings. These methods ensure thorough evaluation and maintenance of vessel hulls.

We document and report findings through several methods. Real-time data collection captures images and videos during inspections, while detailed reports compile comprehensive information, including visual evidence, measurements and assessments. Inspection data is stored in digital formats for easy access and sharing with stakeholders. We also provide compliance documentation by preparing necessary reports for regulatory bodies, such as submissions to the Maritime Arrivals Reporting System (MARS).

Our divers can perform a variety of specialised tasks, including manually removing biofouling from complex hull geometries and niche areas that are difficult for ROVs to access, conducting close-up visual inspections and tactile assessments to identify and evaluate damage or biofouling, performing minor repairs on the hull and underwater structures such as patching small leaks or fixing damaged coatings and assist with the maintenance of underwater components, including propellers, thrusters and other critical systems. 

We ensure thorough cleaning by employing skilled divers equipped with advanced tools and extensive training in this area as well as being supported by Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV). The combination of human expertise and robotic assistance allows for meticulous cleaning in areas that are difficult for machines alone to reach. Divers can physically access and clean intricate parts of the hull and underwater structures, ensuring that all biofouling organisms are effectively removed and clients can have peace of mind that we are experts in this field.