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DNV GL and the Norwegian paint manufacturer Jotun have signed a cooperation agreement to work on improving hull performance at Nor-Shipping this week.

The project will bring together two performance management services, Jotun's Hull Performance Solution and DNV GL's ECO Insight solution, to collect and analyse data on hull degradation. This is designed to enable customers to cut their fuel bills and reduce emissions.

In a statement, DNV GL said: "Experts suggest that hull and propeller degradation accounts for up to 17 percent of the world fleet's fuel costs and greenhouse gas emissions. Advanced hull coatings solutions or more regular hull and propeller cleaning are already widely accepted as effective preventive measures. However, there is no conclusive evidence showing which coating solution is the most effective or when and how often propellers need to be cleaned."

Stein Kjølberg, Global Sales Director, Hull Performance Solutions at Jotun, remarked: "Our Hull Performance Solution (HPS) combines state-of-the-art hull coatings and application technologies with ISO-CD-19030-2 compliant performance measurements and high performance guarantees - helping customers reduce fuel costs and emissions by up to 16 percent."

DNV GL said it will provide Jotun with hull and propeller performance computations based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models that include the complete operational range of the vessel.

"This approach generates a much greater amount of baseline data than a conventional model tank test could deliver and provides customers with the information they need to prove that they reduced both fuel consumption and emissions to charterers for example," explained Dr. Torsten Büssow, DNV GL's Head of Fleet Performance Management.

ECO Insight computations also show how much resistance is added over time due to hull fouling. The portal further provides customers with the opportunity to benchmark measured hull and propeller degradation with other ships in their fleet as well as relevant peer group averages.