Port of Auckland nears completion of in-port biofouling solution

September 24, 2025, by Sara Kosmajac

New Zealand’s Port of Auckland is inching closer to wrapping up the development of an in-port biofouling solution to clean niche areas of vessels.

According to the port’s officials, the technology being developed is anticipated to offer maritime transport lines and cruise operators with “additional confidence” to operate in New Zealand waters while maintaining biosecurity and helping preserve the country’s marine environment.

It is also estimated that this new system could play an ‘important’ role in the overall operations of New Zealand’s maritime sector, particularly as—historically speaking—vessels that had issues with certain areas had to be cleaned offshore, i.e., far from a port.

The approach to spot cleaning (or niche area cleaning as mandated by the nation’s regulators) is reportedly the result of a collaboration between the Port of Auckland and New Zealand Diving and Salvage Limited (NZDS).

As disclosed, once the prototype is approved, it is planned to be used for the upcoming summer season before the cruise sector is in full force.

Although the port and NZDS are keeping the specific details of how exactly the prototype will work under wraps, the final commercial solution is said to have been fully engineered and greenlit as a biosecurity treatment.

In parallel, as noted, NZDS and the Port of Auckland are going to keep working together with other partners to secure the official stamp of approval for the final commercial-grade device.

Speaking about this development, Chris Mills, GM Marine, Multi-Cargo and Cruise, said that the prototype represented an additional service for maritime stakeholders in the “rare” instances where there is a need for spot cleaning.

He further remarked that the service is hoped to meet all of the biofouling requirements that regulators have established.

Biofouling: a brief overview

Biofouling, or the undesirable build-up of microorganisms, plants, algae and animals on a ship’s underwater surfaces like its hull, is seen as a considerable contributor to a vessel’s fuel efficiency and total emissions.

With the maritime transport industry sailing toward net zero, biofouling has been recognized as one of the pressing issues to be tackled.

As a report from June 2023 published by Norway-headquartered marine coatings manufacturer Jotun found, nearly two-thirds (59%) of the shipping industry glosses over the negative ecological impacts of biofouling, with as much as 1 in 4 claiming to know little about the issue.

The study further indicated that if vessels operated with a clean hull, free from biofouling, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions could be slashed by a fifth, while fuel spending could be reduced by 19%.

Furthermore, researchers from the Swedish KTH Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) highlighted in a January 2025 report that timing was ‘critical’ to combat the effects of biofouling.

At the time, Cornelius Wittig, a PhD student in fluid mechanics at KTH, explained that slime fouling ‘significantly’ added to fluid friction at sea, necessitating an uptick in a ship’s shaft power by what is estimated to be as much as 18%.

Wittig also elaborated that a vessel with a thin biofilm could experience an increase in fuel consumption of up to 80% as a result of biofouling, which often goes unnoticed, and a ship does not get scheduled for cleaning on time.

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