Ship recycling refers to the disassembly of a ship in recycling facilities, as well as the storage and processing of these materials to reuse them. The ship recycling industry enables the reuse of raw materials for industrial purposes, and thus is fully in line with the European Circular Economy Action Plan and Green Deal objectives. Yet, in addition to work-related diseases due to toxic substances, unacceptably high levels of fatalities and injuries at current shipbreaking yards makes ship recycling one of the most dangerous occupations in the world (ILO 2015). Besides, due to the lack of proper waste management, toxic waste from shipbreaking contaminates the coastal areas and exposes the workers to hazardous substances. Although international regulations exist to reduce and prevent the adverse effects of ships on human health and the environment (IMO 2009; UNEP 2011; Regulation EU No 1257/2013), improving the safety and health of workers and stopping the detrimental impact on the environment still remain major challenges of the sector. The main objective of SHEREC is to enable the involvement and adoption of innovative robotics, data and AI systems into the ship recycling industry to significantly improve the occupational health and safety conditions in this industry and to prevent contamination of hazardous materials both at occupational and environmental levels. Specifically, SHEREC will (1) semi-automate the preparation process in ship recycling using an AI-powered drone inspecting the interior of the ship to locate hazardous materials on the ship, (2) create an automated ship recycling plan using a digital twin of the ship and AI-based planning methods, and (3) automate the cutting and paint removal processes in ship recycling process using two innovative mobile robotic systems that can work autonomously or via tele-operation.

The world fleet consumes up to 325 million tonnes of fuel/ year, being responsible for the emission of 1,099 million tonnes of greenhouse gas (GHG). Ships only use 28% of the energy from the fuel to generate propulsion, of which the majority is spent overcoming fouling. Thus, keeping the hull clean can result in significant cost savings and reduce the GHG emissions. Currently, when the ship performance decreases significantly a call on-demand underwater service for removal or killing of the fouling is contracted. This is performed when the ship is docked using diver- or unmanned-operated vehicles. These solutions have often poor quality, are expensive, unsafe for the divers and/ or maritime traffic and only provide a transient increase in the hull performance. Cliin has developed the first on-board automatic cleaning system – FLIpPER – that enables a completely new procedure for ship-owners/operators’ management of the hull. FLIpER will be permanently installed on the ship and available at any given time and location, allowing a continuous cleaning, thus preventing early formation of fouling. FLIpER will allow savings in fuel consumption of up to 20% over 5 years when compared to call on-demand solutions. Moreover, the use of FLIpER improves sustainability of maritime sector by reducing GHG emissions by 95% in comparison to current solutions, minimizing the transport of invasive aquatic species associated with the fouling and improving the health and safety at the workplace, as there is minimum crew involvement in the cleaning operation and the marine traffic in ports is not disturbed. Through the successful development and implementation of FLIpER technology, Cliin will be in a strong position to exploit a market projected to value US$ 4 Billion by 2020 and enhance its profitability by the stream of the sales, with an expected cumulated revenue of €195 million, 5 years after project completion.

The world fleet spends €74 billion/ year in fuel, corresponding to 325 million tonnes of fuel and the emission of 1,099 million tonnes of CO2. If nothing is done shipping emissions will increase between 50% and 250% by 2050. It has been estimated that 10% of the vessels energy cost and emissions are due to fouling on the hull. Thus, if the entire world fleet were kept clean of fouling, the savings would be of 32.5 million tonnes of fuel/ year. So far, this is not possible because cleaning solutions are based on expensive dry-dock and call-on-demand underwater services contracted to clean the ship in ports. These solutions have often poor quality, are expensive, unsafe for the divers and/ or maritime traffic and only provide a transient increase in the hull performance. Cliin has developed the first on-board automatic cleaning robot – HCR – that enables a completely new procedure for ship-owners, operators and charterers’ management of the hull. HCR will be permanently installed on the ship and available at any given time and location, allowing a continuous cleaning, thus preventing early formation of fouling. HCR will allow savings in fuel consumption of up to 10%/ year over 5 years when compared to call on-demand solutions. Moreover, the use of HCR improves sustainability of maritime sector by reducing GHG emissions, minimizing the transport of invasive species associated with the fouling and improving the health and safety at the workplace, as there is minimum crew involvement in the cleaning operation and the marine traffic in ports is not disturbed. Through the successful development and implementation of HCR technology, Cliin will be in a strong position to exploit a market projected to value US$ 4 Billion by 2020 and enhance its profitability by the stream of the sales, with an expected cumulated revenue of €107 million, 5 years after project completion.