Journal of Marine Science and Application (2020) 19:415–429

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11804-020-00157-z

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Review of Underwater Ship Hull Cleaning Technologies

Changhui Song 1 & Weicheng Cui 1,2

Received: 11 November 2019 / Accepted: 12 May 2020 / Published online: 13 October 2020
# The Author(s) 2020

Abstract
This paper presents a comprehensive review and analysis of ship hull cleaning technologies. Various cleaning methods and
devices applied to dry-dock cleaning and underwater cleaning are introduced in detail, including rotary brushes, high-pressure
and cavitation water jet technology, ultrasonic technology, and laser cleaning technology. The application of underwater robot
technology in ship cleaning not only frees divers from engaging in heavy work but also creates safe and efficient industrial
products. Damage to the underlying coating of the ship caused by the underwater cleaning operation can be minimized by
optimizing the working process of the underwater cleaning robot. With regard to the adhesion technology mainly used in
underwater robots, an overview of recent developments in permanent magnet and electromagnetic adhesion, negative pressure
force adhesion, thrust force adhesion, and biologically inspired adhesion is provided. Through the analysis and comparison of
current underwater robot products, this paper predicts that major changes in the application of artificial intelligence and
multirobot cooperation, as well as optimization and combination of various technologies in underwater cleaning robots, could
be expected to further lead to breakthroughs in developing next-generation robots for underwater cleaning.

Keywords Biofouling . Dry-dock cleaning . Underwater ship cleaning . Adhesion technology . Cleaning robot

1 Introduction outlet ports, sonar housings, and protective grills, as shown

in Figure 1. The more diverse or intricate a structure is, the
Vessels or structures that partially reside below the surface of more difficult and costly it is to remove the biofilms and the
seawater or freshwater are subjected to various levels of foul- organisms. Hull and propeller performance may deteriorate
ing by marine (saltwater) or aquatic (fresh water from lakes over time because of biofouling and mechanical damage; thus,
and rivers) organisms, respectively (Cioanta and McGhin poor hull conditions may decrease the energy efficiency.
2017). At the base of the fouling mechanism for vessels and Moreover, biofilms on the hull can affect the ship’s dynamics
structures residing in sea or freshwater are biofilms formed on by increasing drag and the required propulsion. If the ship is
such structures, which constitute the glue between marine or idle for a long time or has little activity (for example, staying at
aquatic organisms and the actual structure (Hua et al. 2018). the port), then the growth of marine biofouling on the hull will
The biofilms form and the fouling organisms attach to all be accelerated (Tribou and Swain 2010; Adland et al. 2018).
subsurface structures, such as propellers, rudders, inlet and Hull fouling on the vessels is a major problem that leads to
higher fuel consumption and consequently increased air pollu-
tion (Tribou and Swain 2010; Cioanta and McGhin 2017; Hua
Highlights et al. 2018). Frictional resistance due to buildup of biofilms, sea
• The development status of underwater cleaning robot is introduced. grass, barnacles, and other marine creatures on the hull as a
• The development trend of underwater cleaning robot technology is vessel goes through water will increase its fuel consumption.
summarized.
For example, a 30% increase in resistance caused by the mod-
erate biological contamination of a 100 000–DWT tanker hull
* Weicheng Cui
[email protected]
will increase the ship’s fuel consumption by up to 12 tons/day,
which is the reason for the increase in ship operating costs and
1
Deep Sea Technology Research Center, School of Engineering, emissions (Smith and Colvin 2014). Hull fouling on the vessels
Westlake University, Hangzhou 310024, China can also cause the spread of alien species that rapidly multiply in
2
Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Hadal Science and local waters without natural enemies (Bax et al. 2003; Godwin
Technology, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai 201306, China 2003; Drake and Lodge 2007).
416 Journal of Marine Science and Application

Figure 1 Marine fouling

organisms attach to all subsurface
structures of the typical ship
(Bixler and Bhushan 2012)

Typically, most vessels perform a coating update per 3 to of the hull is recommended. In the long run, hard coatings that
5 years (Hua et al. 2018). Moreover, in the U.S. Navy, pro- can be cleaned underwater are an optimal solution and are
peller cleaning work is recommended to be conducted six neutral to the ocean because the waste generated by cleaning
times per year, while hull cleaning is to be carried out three does not contaminate the marine environment (Morrisey and
times per year (Cioanta and McGhin 2017). Various methods Woods 2015).
are currently being used to rid vessel hulls of biofouling Oliveira (2017) proposed tools for improving current prac-
through cleaning and to monitor the structural integrity of tices related to hull performance management, with a focus on
the hull (Smith and Colvin 2014). In summary, the most com- the adhesion strength of marine organisms on different
mon methods used for biofouling removal are dry-docking coatings and estimates of hull fouling. The author uses the
cleaning, antifouling paint, and periodic underwater cleaning raw data provided by the shipping company, spanning a
(Morrisey and Woods 2015). Chambers et al. (2006) pointed period of over 3 years, to draw the percentage speed loss
out that a good method of removing biofouling is the use of and vessel speed of the vessel, as shown in Figure 2. Adland
high-pressure abrasives in dry docks. In the dry-dock cleaning et al. (2018) suggested a new method to assess the results of
method, ship owners accept the increased sailing cost and wait periodic hull cleaning operations on energy efficiency by
to have a complete hull cleaning and repainting in the dock. comparing fuel consumption in the interval after the ship
The method requires the ship to enter the dock and leave the cleaning. Hull cleaning can play a key role in improving fuel
water entirely, and then clean the surface of the ship through efficiency, thereby reducing sailing costs and emissions.
high-intensity manpower. Dry-dock cleaning has the short- The main purpose of this review is to study the advantages
comings of long operation cycles, high labor intensity, and and shortcomings of in-water hull cleaning technologies on
high cleaning costs. In the antifouling paint method, the ship the basis of our understanding of current and emerging
hulls are sprayed with soft antifouling paint, which can effec- cleaning technologies in the references. This review can be
tively kill or slow the growth of organisms by gradually re- used to guide the design of efficient cleaning tools or to de-
leasing biocides. The antifouling effect is greatly reduced as velop environmentally friendly robotic systems for hull
the paint ages. Therefore, the antifouling paint needs to be cleaning. The rest of this paper is organized as follows:
reapplied. However, many jurisdictions have considered Section 2 presents the main devices and methods that are
dockside cleaning illegal because the hazardous substances widely used in underwater hull cleaning. Section 3 reviews
of antifouling paint particles that may spread into contaminate the techniques of underwater vehicles used for hull cleaning.
the water during cleaning (Smith and Colvin 2014). In the Section 4 discusses current challenges, perspectives, and fu-
periodic underwater cleaning method, the use of hard coatings ture work toward improved underwater hull cleaning technol-
that can last for at least 10 years and may even extend the life ogies. Section 5 outlines the main conclusions.
C. Song, W. Cui: Review of Underwater Ship Hull Cleaning Technologies 417

remain in the area under investigation even after the cleaning

operation (Davidson et al. 2008).

2.2 Powered Rotary Brush Cleaning Systems

Underwater cleaning methods have gradually evolved from

(a) Speed loss manual operation to mechatronics equipment, especially for
large vessels. Handheld cleaners, large cleaning equipment,
and cleaning robot systems have been developed. Large brush
devices can usually be used when quickly cleaning flat or
slightly curved areas of the hull, and small brushes can be
used for better results when cleaning the propeller (Davidson
et al. 2008; Hopkins et al. 2009). A single brush, double
brushes, or multiple brushes that are powered by hydraulic
(b) Speed
motors could be installed in large rotary brush devices, as
Figure 2 Speed loss and measured speed through water for a tanker over shown in Figure 4.
a period of 3 years. Hull and propeller cleaning events are marked with
vertical blue lines (Oliveira 2017)
2.2.1 Unpowered Cleaning Brush
2 Cleaning Devices and Methods
Brushes are used all the time to remove deposits from the
The initial cleaning work is performed by workers to remove surface of ships. Generally, different types of brushes are used
biofouling by hand. Floerl et al. (2010) presented that manual based on the type of biofouling to be removed and the paint of
scrubbing or wiping is widely used in cleaning recreational the vessels. Nylon brushes can be used when cleaning a cer-
boats. tain thickness of mud and sea grass on the hull, and steel
With the development progress, various new cleaning tools brushes can be used when cleaning barnacles, heavy grass,
have been manufactured to increase the efficiency of cleaning and zebra mussels. A suitable cleaning brush needs to be se-
operations and greatly reduce the labor intensity of cleaning lected according to the construction material of the hull. For
operations. Cleaning methods and tools can be divided into example, nylon or nonmetallic brushes are used on ships con-
three categories: structed of fiberglass, wood, aluminum, and steel, while metal
brushes are used on ships constructed of aluminum or steel.
& Manual hull cleaning Many companies have been working on underwater hull
& Powered rotary brush cleaning systems cleaning devices that are widely used, including Armada
& Noncontact cleaning technology Systems, Inc. (www.armadahull.com), Subsea Industries
(www.subind.net), and Phosmarine Brush Kartetc (www.
brush-kart.com). Taking Armada Systems, Inc., as an
example, we surveyed its typical rotating brush products, as
2.1 Manual Hull Cleaning shown in Figure 5 and Table 1.

Manual cleaning of biofouling surfaces is commonly per- 2.2.2 Powered Rotating Devices
formed on small ships, e.g., recreational yachts and small fish-
ing boats. In accordance with the amount and characteristic of Handheld powered rotating brush devices can be divided into
the biofouling (e.g., slime, biofilm, sea grass, and encrusting single-brush head, double-brush head, and multiple-brush
organisms) and on the type of antifouling coating applied, head, as shown in Figure 4. The powered rotating device gen-
cloths, brushes, or scraping devices are used to remove bio- erates the adsorption force when rotating the brush units,
fouling organisms, as shown in Figure 3. which makes it attracted to the hull. The diver can adjust the
When a snorkeler or diver performs manual cleaning, re- cleaning direction of the device and the rotation speed of the
moving all the marine creatures on the hull is impossible. A brush according to the cleaning area (Albitar et al. 2016). In
survey on the degree of residual biofouling on the rudder, addition to hydraulic brushes, electric powered devices are
propeller, stern tube, and struts of the vessel was performed used in underwater robots. Companies such as Armada
before and after manual cleaning. A professional diver Systems, Inc., and Subsea Industry that focus on the develop-
dispatched by the cleaning company scrubbed the biofouling ment of marine cleaning equipment have manufactured many
by using a handheld brush, but about 40% of the species powered rotating devices that use different brushes to remove
418 Journal of Marine Science and Application

Figure 3 Manual hull cleaning tools and methods. a The cleaning tools provided by Top Shelf Marine Company (image: www.topshelfmarine.com/
hull-and-bottom-cleaning). b A shovel for removing barnacles (video screenshot: tv.cntv.cn/video/C10595/1a24d1bb3c7e453d8fa9183e8d62de44). c A
diver using a handheld brush to clean the bottom hull (image: Citimarine Store, https://citimarinestore.com/citiguide/hookah-dive-systems-perfect-for-
cleaning-hull-underwater/). d A snorkeler using a cleaning sponge to remove biofouling organisms (video screenshot: www.youtube.com/watch?v=
0biZ4ysKHM0)

marine organisms attached to the submerged hull to accom- 2.3.1 High-pressure Water Cleaning Jets
modate different hulls and coatings.
The high-pressure water cleaning method relies on its own
2.3 Contactless Underwater Cleaning Method impact force to remove biofouling on the hull. A high working
pressure corresponds to a good cleaning effect (Albitar et al.
The cleaning or grooming of a marine or aquatic vessel or 2016). Some researchers have used high-pressure water tech-
structure, such as vessels and oil platforms, generally involves nology in underwater hull cleaning (Osaka and Norita 2014;
methods that use brushes, scrapers, and other abrasive means Smith and Colvin 2014; Chen et al. 2017; Hua et al. 2018;
to clean (Cioanta and McGhin 2017). These methods can be Yan et al. 2019).
damaging to the welds, rivets, and protrusions of the water If the appropriate water pressure is used to safely remove
vessels or underwater structures, thereby compromising their the slime layer, then the effect on the hull coating is minimal
mechanical integrity. Present cleaning or grooming methods (Floerl et al. 2010).
fall short of being thorough, leaving behind biofilms, which The HullWiper (HullWiper, https://www.hullwiper.co/),
represent the substrate and contain the nutrients that different shown in Figure 6a, cleans the hull and simultaneously
marine organisms use for growth and anchor (Cioanta and collects biofouling removed from the ship rather than
McGhin 2017). In this section, we mainly survey contactless directly discharging them into the water; the latter causes the
cleaning methods and apparatuses, including the high- risk of species spreading. HullWiper takes local water as a
pressure water jet method, the cavitation water jet method, medium for hull cleaning and sprays high-pressure water up
and the ultrasonic cleaning method. When these cleaning tech- to 50–450 bar on the hull, cleaning up to 1500 m2/h, to remove
niques are used to remove the biofouling from the hull, the biofouling. The Magnetic Hull Crawler (Cybernetix, www.
damage to the coating can be better reduced compared with cybernetix.fr) vehicle, shown in Figure 6b, is a remotely
rotating brushes (Morrisey and Woods 2015). operated system dedicated to inspection, cleaning, and
C. Song, W. Cui: Review of Underwater Ship Hull Cleaning Technologies 419

Figure 4 Powered rotary brush. a, b A device manufactured by Armada Systems, Inc. (image: https://armadahull.com/products/). c A device
manufactured by Divetech Marine Services Pte Ltd. (image: http://www.divetechmarine.com/page/equipment.html). d, e Divers using a rotary brush
to clean biofouling (video screenshot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRQsPoHD9Jw; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
G7d1bbAU7RA&feature=youtu.be)

maintenance of ships, offshore floating units, and offshore oil and the cleaning efficiency can reach 100–200 m2/h. Hua et al.
and gas industries, and it has been used for more than 10 years. (2018) designed an en-route operated hydroblasting system by
The Magnetic Hull Crawler uses high-pressure jets up to using high-pressure water cleaning jet for counteracting bio-
1000 bar, with different jet openings and attack angles avail- fouling on-ship hulls. The experimental system is shown in
able. The underwater cleaning width of the system is 500 mm, Figure 6c.

Figure 5 Brushes manufactured by Armada Systems, Inc.: a nylon brush; b polypropylene brush; c grit brush; d stainless steel row brush; e flat wire steel
brush; f flat wire with cutouts and blades; g barnacle cutter; h rebuildable heavy barnacle brush
420 Journal of Marine Science and Application

Table 1 Characteristics and applications of the brushes manufactured by Armada Systems, Inc.

Brush Typical applications Ship hull Softness

Nylon brush Remove a certain thickness of mud and grass Wood, fiberglass, aluminum, and steel Good
Polypropylene brush Remove a certain thickness of mud and grass Wood, fiberglass, aluminum, and steel Good
Grit brush Remove a certain thickness of mud and grass Wood, fiberglass, aluminum, and steel Good
Stainless steel row brush Remove moderate growth slime, grass, and barnacles Aluminum and steel Medium
Flat wire steel brush Remove barnacles, heavy grass, and zebra mussels Steel Bad
Flat wire with cutouts and blades Remove barnacles, heavy grass, and zebra mussels Steel Bad
Barnacle cutter Remove barnacles and other encrusted sea growth Steel Bad
Rebuildable heavy barnacle brush Allow the operator to install or replace bristles on Steel Bad
the brush disc as needed

2.3.2 Cavitating Water Cleaning Jets Cavi-Jet International offers a variety of hull cleaning sys-
tems, from handheld equipment to diver-operated vehicles.
Cavitating water jet technology is an improved version of The Cavi-Jet pistols shown in Figure 7a to c are used by divers
high-pressure water cleaning technology that uses specially to clean complex surfaces of different shapes and areas that
designed nozzles, which convert high-pressure water into cav- are difficult for large cleaning equipment to reach. The water-
itation water (Kalumuck et al. 1997; Balashov et al. 2011; and-sandblasting Cavi-Jet pistol is specially designed to re-
Pivovarov 2009; Floerl et al. 2010; Zabin et al. 2017). The move hard marine fouling on the hull. These Cavi-Jet pistols
cavitation jet introduces cavitation into the high-pressure can treat up to 50–100 m2 of hard algae, shellfish, and shell
clean water, which is highly aggressive and enhances the fouling or 100–250-m2 soft barnacle and shell fouling per
cleaning of the hull. The number of bubbles in the cavitation hour, with 25–35 MPa pump power. The Cavi-Jet nozzles,
water can be increased by improving the nozzle design. The shown in Figure 7d–g, are used to clean the flat and slightly
bubbles rupture as they approach the hull, resulting in very curved surface of the vessel and are equipped with a suction
high local stresses, which can result in greater cleaning power. system for adhering to the hull being cleaned. The Cavi-Jet
This feature is a significant advantage of conventional high- Robots, shown in Figure 7h, could be remotely operated to
pressure water jets operating at the same pump pressure. clean slightly curvilinear hull surfaces at a high speed.
Many companies have developed jet nozzles and cleaning
devices/systems based on cavitation water jet technology to 2.3.3 Ultrasonic Cleaning Technology
enable underwater cleaning efficiency. Taking Cavi-Jet
International as an example, we surveyed its typical cavitating Over the past decades, ultrasonic cleaning technology has
water jet products, as shown in Figure 7. been used in many cleaning applications, e.g., medical

Figure 6 High-pressure water cleaning jet technology. a HullWiper (image: HullWiper, https://www.hullwiper.co/). b Magnetic Hull Crawler (image:
Cybernetix, www.cybernetix.fr). c Illustration of biofouling cleaning system (Hua et al. 2018)
C. Song, W. Cui: Review of Underwater Ship Hull Cleaning Technologies 421

Figure 7 Jet nozzles and cleaning devices manufactured by Cavi-Jet International. a Multisprayer Cavi-Jet pistols. b Single-sprayer Cavi-Jet pistols. c
Water-and-sandblasting Cavi-Jet pistols. d Small Cavi-Jet heads. e Cavi-Jet dampers. f Large Cavi-Jet heads. g Twin Cavi-Jet heads. h Cavi-Jet robots
(image: http://www.cavi-jet.com/)

equipment, jewelry, vessels, and marine structures (Caduff engaged around the fouled hull. Yan et al. (2019) designed an
1990; Mazue et al. 2011; Erneland 2014; Legg et al. 2015; underwater cleaning robot that uses the cavitation cleaning
Albitar et al. 2016; Yan et al. 2019). The application of ultra- technology, as shown in Figure 8.
sonic cleaning technology to underwater ship cleaning has
become possible due to the rapid development of digital elec-
tronics and transducer technology over the past two decades. 2.3.4 Laser Cleaning Technology
The method relies on simultaneously generating ultrasound
energy pulses over a plurality of frequency ranges. This ener- Laser technology and its application technology have made great
gy produces a pattern of alternating positive and negative progress in the past 30 years. Laser cleaning technology, which
pressures. This alternating pattern then produces tiny bubbles uses the laser radiation scanning the treated hull, has the advan-
during negative pressure and implodes the bubbles during tages of faster surface cleaning capability, precise selective pro-
positive pressure. The destructive energy of the implosion cessing capability, and better cleaning process control through
not only provides a cleaning effect on the hull but could also feedback over rotary brush and high-pressure water cleaning
eliminate the marine creatures removed from the hull to some (Fowler 1987; Veiko and Shakhno 2002; Song et al. 2004;
extent (Aldrich and Qi 2005). Chen et al. 2010; Kostenko et al. 2019). Laser blasting or
Mazue et al. (2011) designed a cleaning system that con- cleaning, as shown in Figure 9b, could be introduced commer-
sists of three transducers operating at low frequency and a cially in many industrial fields, including underwater ship
suction device, and they tested the system on a 15-m boat. cleaning.
Cioanta and McGhin (2017) proposed a cleaning apparatus Fowler (1987) designed a laser cleaning system to remove
for a ship’s hull and underwater structures. This apparatus marine creatures from the hull efficiently. This optical
employs acoustic pressure shock waves that can provide high
compressive pressures (in excess of 100 MPa) followed by
large and long-lasting tensile/negative pressures (in excess of
10 MPa), which can generate large cavitational bubbles during
their collapse and very powerful water jets with speeds in
excess of 100 m/s. These two synergetic phase effects of the
acoustic pressure shock waves can work in tandem to clean a
ship’s hull or any underwater structures subject to marine or
aquatic biofilm formation and subsequently to marine or
aquatic fouling. Courson and Shelburne (2001) proposed a
portable diver-operated device for cleaning underwater sur-
faces, which includes an ultrasonic energy source in the hous-
ing with a compliant portion around the opening that can be Figure 8 Ultrasonic underwater cleaning applications (Yan et al. 2019)
422 Journal of Marine Science and Application

cleaning system comprises a high-energy strobe lamp that has wrapping the vessel for a period, this method deprives organ-
a capacity of 10 kJ, which connects to the capacitor used to isms of the resources they need to survive, such as oxygen,
store electrical energy. A power system is used to charge the temperature, and food (Floerl et al. 2010; Albitar et al. 2016).
capacitor. This high-power capacitor is used to charge the
strobe lamp, which produces high-power laser beams to scan
the treated surface. Chen et al. (2012) developed a cleaning
3 Adhesion Technologies in Underwater
technique for the surface preparation of steel by using a 500-
Cleaning Robots
W pulsed high-power fiber laser, as shown in Figure 9a.
Kostenko et al. (2019) developed a new underwater cleaning
Most of the above-mentioned cleaning devices could be used
system that consists of an underwater robot and laser cleaning
by handheld cleaners, semiautomatic cleaning equipment, and
equipment that can be used to clean the hull, as shown in
cleaning robot systems. When divers clean the vessel in the
Figure 9d. However, the details of the design of the cleaning
water, there are disadvantages, such as high labor intensity,
laser are not given in the paper.
low efficiency, limited working time, and potential personal
injury. Therefore, underwater hull cleaning robots have become
the best solution to replace divers for hull cleaning (Yuan et al.
2.3.5 Other Cleaning Technologies
2004; Lee et al. 2012). To meet the requirements of underwater
ship cleaning, the robot needs to walk close enough to the hull
Heating is widely used to kill most creatures, including marine
without damaging it. The robot requires six degrees of freedom
organisms. Heating methods are widely used to eliminate ma-
(DOF) of motion and centimeter position accuracy (Lee et al.
rine organisms in power station cooling systems and marine
2012). The most important functional requirement of the under-
creatures entering the vessel’s ballast tanks (Wotton et al.
water cleaning robot is to maintain continuous adsorption ca-
2004; Balashov et al. 2011; Floerl et al. 2010). The heating
pacity because of the steep and irregular surface of the ship, as
method has a good effect on killing marine organisms when
well as the influence of the current, wave, and wind.
the vessel has light and moderate biofouling (Albitar et al.
2016). Ultraviolet radiation technology is increasingly used
for water sterilization and can be used to kill marine creatures 3.1 Magnetic Adhesion
at the early growing stage at which they attach to the hull
(Lakretz et al. 2009; Satpathy et al. 2010). Envelope technology Magnetic force is widely used in underwater cleaning systems
can effectively kill all biofouling on the hull. By completely to hold the robot onto the ship in the vertical or overhanging

Figure 9 Laser cleaning technology and devices. a Illustration of the laser surface preparation system (Chen et al. 2012). b Technical implementation of
laser cleaning. c Laser scanning device. d The designed ROV. e, f Results of underwater laser cleaning (Kostenko et al. 2019)
C. Song, W. Cui: Review of Underwater Ship Hull Cleaning Technologies 423

hull. The adhesion principle is to use the mutual attraction 280 mm, the forward speed is 0.05 m/s, and the cleaning width is
between the magnet and the ferromagnetic material, such as 250 mm. The first-generation ARMUS robot is a three-axis
the ship hull and marine structure, to apply direct pressure tracked system that attaches to the hull with the help of neodym-
between the robot and the ship surface. Therefore, enough ium magnets. The attraction force that the robot tracks provide to
magnetic force and friction force must be ensured to balance the surface is 336 kg, which is enough to keep the robot clamped
the external forces that are applied to the robot. At present, the to the hull surface even when the ship is in motion. The second-
widely used adsorption methods mainly include permanent- generation ARMUS robot is designed in a way that it can remain
magnetic and electromagnetic adsorption; and the mechanical underwater for an unlimited amount of time and work on both
structure forms are the crawler and wheel type. sides (external and internal like cargo holders) of the ship’s hull.
The advantage of the permanent magnet adsorption method is
that the magnetic force maintenance does not require external
3.1.1 Permanent-Magnetic Adhesion Technology energy maintenance, which means that the adsorption capacity
of the system does not increase the capacity of the power system.
With the emergence of new permanent magnet materials, very At the same time, when the magnetic attraction force becomes
strong magnetic forces can be generated by using permanent weak as the thickness of the contaminated layer increases, in-
magnets with very small size and mass. Therefore, permanent creasing the electromagnetic force by consuming the power sup-
magnets have been integrated into wheel or track designs and ply is impossible.
widely used in climbing robots and underwater cleaning ro-
bots, as shown in Figure 10.
Based on the first two versions, the M2000 robot has been 3.1.2 Electromagnetic Adhesion Technology
designed to improve agility and overall productivity. The robot
uses permanent magnets to attach to the ship, and it uses high- The use of permanent magnets makes the robot attached more
pressure water jets to remove corrosion from the hull and recycle reliably to the hull, but its disadvantage is that controlling the
water and waste. The M2000 robot can be operated in narrow transition between attachment and release is difficult because
areas and around obstacles, and it can traverse obstacles on the the magnetic force is always present. Electromagnets can be
hull and drive at a speed of about 0.6 m/s (Ross et al. 2003). Yi used instead of permanent magnets to manufacture the wheels
et al. (2009) designed a wall-climbing robot called WCRSRR to and tracks of the robot. When the track is in contact with the
remove rust from the ship hull. This robot uses ultra-high- hull, the electromagnet can be controlled to enhance the mag-
pressure water jets as a cleaning device, as shown in netic force, and when the track is separated from the hull, the
Figure 10b. The main parameters of the robot are as follows: electromagnet can be controlled to weaken the magnetic force.
weight is about 90 kg, the size is about 735 mm × 752 mm × This process will increase the maneuverability of the robot,

Figure 10 Robots using permanent magnets. a MARC final release, during vertical climbing test (Vodenicharov et al. 2017). b WCRSRR robot (Yi et al.
2009). c First-generation ARMUS robot inspecting ship’s hull under the water line. d Second-generation ARMUS robot (Vodenicharov et al. 2017). e–g
Ship inspection robot. h, i Payload capacity test (Huang et al. 2017)
424 Journal of Marine Science and Application

although robots that use electromagnets consume more energy (Holappa et al. 2013). Hullbot is a robot primarily used for
than those that use permanent magnets (Yan et al. 2019). yacht cleaning, as shown in Figure 12c (Souto et al. 2015).
HISMAR, shown in Figure 11a, is a multifunctional robot KeelCrab Sail One, as shown in Figure 12d, can be used for
system that is used for hull inspection and maintenance in the not only yacht cleaning but also hull inspections (Souto et al.
dock to ensure minimal vessel drag and improve propulsion 2015). Nassiraei et al. (2012) developed an underwater hull
efficiency. The robotic system uses a new navigation system cleaning robot, as shown in Figure 12e and f. The size of the
that uses optical imaging, magnetic sensors, and the inherent robot is about 1100 mm × 500 mm × 800 mm, and the weight
structural features of the hull to construct a local map on the is about 40 kg.
hull for assisting robot navigation (Balashov et al. 2011). Zeng
and Cai (2012) designed an underwater cleaning robot that
uses a combination of permanent magnet and electromagnet 3.3 Thrust Force Adhesion
as the adsorption device, shown in Figure 11b. Smith and
Colvin (2014) designed a magnetic fixation device to secure Many underwater robots that use thrust force adhesion technol-
the cleaning robot to the hull of the vessel more securely than ogy have been developed for various applications, such as the
with the magnetic track. A variety of magnet types may be inspection of the surface of storage tanks or ships (Sattar et al.
used in the fixation device, such as electromagnets that are 2002; Osaka et al. 2010; Osaka and Norita 2014). Compared
switchable on and off or permanent magnets, which may be with the vacuum adsorption technology, the thrust adsorption is
switchable by movement or rotation of the magnets. greatly improved and no pressure leakage problem occurs.
Unlike magnetic adsorption technology, robots designed with
thrust adsorption technology can be applied to almost all ship
3.2 Negative Pressure Force Adhesion shell materials (Ferreira et al. 2013).
Ferreira et al. (2013) developed an underwater robot in the
A common method of ensuring that a robot is reliably attached to Federal University of ABC, which is used to survey the hull
the surface of a hull is to use negative pressure. This technology and marine structures, as shown in Figure 13a. The robot uses
was first applied in wall-climbing robots for cleaning, mainte- six thrusters to achieve 6-DOF free-swimming in the water
nance, and inspection in the construction industries (Silva and and uses two powered tracks to make it crawl on the surface
Machado 2010). With the application of fluid kinematics tech- of the ship. In the crawler mode, four thrusters are used to
nology, a certain negative pressure region is generated between generate propulsion and ensure that the robot is reliably
the robot adsorption device and the working surface, and the absorbed on the hull. Teledyne SeaBotix, Inc., built a hull
required adhesion force is generated by the pressure difference. inspection ROV (vLBC ROV) to inspect ship hulls and ma-
Sliding vacuum chambers is another method of generating rine structures, as shown in Figure 13b. The vLBC ROV uses
negative pressure (Longo and Muscato 2006). As shown in the unique and patented Vortex VRAM Generator to generate
Figure 12a, Alicia VTX is a new climbing robot that uses an an adhesion force of about 274 N to attach on the hull. The
intelligent active suction cup. The suction cup consists of a ACE Group developed ROVIN-BAT, which can move along
rigid plastic cup and a propeller driven by a DC motor (Longo the surface of the ship and use high-pressure water to clean the
and Muscato 2006). The underwater hull cleaning robot hull (Souto et al. 2015; Albitar et al. 2016). SeaRazor Twin
HullBUG, designed by SeaRobotics, is a UUV crawler AST 307/LT is an efficient underwater cleaning system that
targeted to perform proactive grooming of large vessel hulls uses powered rotary brushes as cleaning devices, as shown in
and other underwater surfaces, as shown in Figure 12b Figure 13d. CleanHull’s operations took off in 2003, and its

Figure 11 Electromagnetic adhesion technology. a HISMAR ROV (Balashov et al. 2011). b Underwater cleaning robot (Zeng and Cai 2012). c
Controllable adhesion system design in MIT (Nancy Stauffer, MIT Energy Initiative, http://news.mit.edu/2011/auv-series-part4-1110)
C. Song, W. Cui: Review of Underwater Ship Hull Cleaning Technologies 425

Figure 12 Robots using negative pressure adsorption technology. a Alicia VTX Robot (http://www.robotic.diees.unict.it/robots/alicia_vtx/alicia_vtx.
htm). b SeaRobotics’ HullBUG (Ferreira et al. 2013). c Hulltimo Robot (HULLTIMO, https://services.crmservice.eu/raiminisite?a=
FEY9pLHXWFV1XHUy5r0nDqOUKD6w3VRLkQkSahxnWjg=). d KeelCrab Sail One (KELLCRAB, http://www.keelcrab.com/keelcrab-sail-one-
drone-sottomarino/). e, f Underwater robot for cleaning ship hull (Nassiraei et al. 2012)

unique method of washing hulls underwater caught attention 3.4 Other Adhesion Technologies
after only 3 years of operation, as shown in Figure 13e.
Daewon Mechatronics Co. developed an underwater robot Souto et al. (2013) designed a new underwater hull
that can perform bottom inspection and cleaning, as shown cleaning robot, as shown in Figure 14a. It is mainly
in Figure 13f. used to clean the hull regularly to avoid excessive

Figure 13 Robots using thrust force adhesion technology. a HROV’s mechanical assembly (Ferreira et al. 2013). b vLBC ROV (Albitar et al. 2016)
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YydCgpl6lzY). c Roving Bat ROV. d SeaRazor SuperTwin (https://armadahull.com/products/ast-307-searazor-
supertwin/). e CleanHull ROV (https://www.telen.no/nyheter/cleanhull-kjopt-av-milliardar/s/2-2.3402-1.4669853). f The hull cleaning robot (http://
www.daewonsys.com/eng/sub_html/sub03_03.php)
426 Journal of Marine Science and Application

Figure 14 Other adhesion technologies. a Mechanical design, motion, and real environment test of the robot (Souto et al. 2013). b The crawling robot
(Albitar et al. 2016). c NESSIE robot (Albitar et al. 2016)

growth of marine organisms that decrease the perfor- 4 Discussion

mance of the ship. This robot, which is 1690 mm long,
554 mm wide, and 340 mm high, is an underactuated The underwater cleaning objective of all the above-mentioned
and deformable robot that solves the problem of moving cleaning methods is to remove all visible and macroscopic
on different surfaces of the hull (Souto et al. 2013, biofouling on the hull. However, the removal step does not
2015). Albitar et al. (2016) designed a crawling robot, kill all the biofouling removed from the hull; a critical step is
as shown in Figure 14b, that is mainly composed of a to capture the biofouling and treat it. This issue is why some
moving mechanism, suction cups, and cleaning devices countries and regions have introduced laws or regulations
(Albitar et al. 2013, 2014, 2016). NESSIE is an under- prohibiting foreign vessels from being cleaned in their ports
water hull cleaning robot that uses two circular rotating or territorial seas. In the current widely used underwater
brushes, as shown in Figure 14c (Albitar et al. 2016). cleaning system, the fragmentation, filtration, and dislodge-
In the past decade, robot designers have gained much inspira- ment processes play an important role in avoiding the natural
tion from climbing animals (Daltorio et al. 2005; Menon et al. dispersal of marine organisms that are removed from the hull.
2004; Tan et al. 2018). Murphy et al. (2006) designed a small Before the treatment process mentioned above, the waste has
wall-climbing robot named Waalbot, whose feet are made of to be captured from the water to the on-ship processing device.
adhesive elastomer materials, allowing it to move on a smooth The pipes and suction equipment used in the capture of waste
surface. Two rotatable legs allow Waalbot to crawl at a speed of and the auxiliary vessel and waste treatment equipment
60 mm/s on a vertical wall and make turns at different rotational installed on it make the underwater robotic cleaning system
speeds. Geckobot weighs 100 g and can crawl along a glass complicated and difficult to operate. We recommend local
surface with a slope of 85° (Unver et al. 2006). Asbeck et al. heating, UV irradiation, or sterilization methods that do not
(2006) designed a six-foot walking robot called RiSE use chemical biocides, which need to be further improved in
(Figure 15). the future, as an alternative to waste treatment methods. The

Figure 15 Biologically inspired adhesion robots. a Waalbot (Murphy et al. 2006). b Geckobot (Unver et al. 2006). c RiSE and d its toe with a large spine
and e toe with a small spine (Asbeck et al. 2006)
C. Song, W. Cui: Review of Underwater Ship Hull Cleaning Technologies 427

processing equipment can be integrated into the underwater presented, with special emphasis on the new adhesion technol-
robot, making the underwater robot cleaning system more ogies being developed. This paper surveyed the details of a
compact and efficient, which could greatly reduce the opera- series of underwater hull cleaning robots to offer solutions to
tion costs of an underwater hull cleaning system. problems that currently concern the ship cleaning industry.
The optimization and combination of various technologies in Through this overview, the following conclusions can be drawn:
the underwater cleaning robot system discussed in this review
are a possible research direction for the industrialization of un- 1) The current cleaning devices are well developed, and
derwater cleaning robots. In improving underwater cleaning many companies have launched serialized products ac-
technology, we recommend combining the rotating brush unit cording to the needs of the market. The ultrasonic and
with cavitation jets and integrating them into the underwater laser cleaning technologies will be more promising tech-
robot; this approach does not significantly increase the energy nologies, and their application will make the underwater
consumption of the system. For example, in designing a robot cleaning system more compact in the future.
permanent-magnet track, an electromagnet module is embed- 2) After being used as a platform equipping cleaning de-
ded. When the permanent magnet is in the adsorption state, vices, unmanned underwater vehicles have greatly pro-
the electromagnet generates an effect of enhancing the magnetic moted the development of underwater cleaning technolo-
force; in the opposite case, the electromagnet generates an effect gy. Should the bio-inspired adhesion technology become
of canceling the magnetic force. The other adsorption methods more cost-effective and robust in the future, it will greatly
(e.g., bio-inspired adhesion technology) mentioned in this re- increase the robots’ adhesion power while reducing the
view could also be used in combination to overcome specific energy consumption of the cleaning robot system when it
technical problems or produce better adsorption effects with the is used to the design of robotic tracks or wheels.
objective of improving the design level of cleaning robots to 3) The optimization and combination of various technologies
create more reliable industrial robot products. in the underwater cleaning robot system discussed in this
Major changes in the application of artificial intelligence and review need to be further researched in the future to increase
multirobot cooperation in underwater cleaning robots could be the cleaning efficiency and decrease the required power.
expected to further lead to breakthroughs in developing next- Major changes in the application of artificial intelligence
generation robots for underwater cleaning. Therefore, robots and multirobot cooperation in underwater cleaning robots
should be given a higher level of autonomy to allow it to auto- could be expected to further lead to breakthroughs in devel-
matically navigate the ship hull and replan the cleaning mode. oping next-generation robots for underwater cleaning.
We could add more sensors and tools to enhance the inspection
capabilities of the cleaning robot and use artificial intelligence
algorithms to give the robots more powerful information pro- Funding Supported by the General Program of the National Natural
Science Foundation of China under Grant No. 51879157, the
cessing and decision-making capabilities. In making the “Construction of a Leading Innovation Team” project by the Hangzhou
cleaning robots smarter, the indispensable prerequisite of all Municipal Government, and the Startup Funding of Newjoined PI of
of these improvements is that they do not add too much to the Westlake University under Grant No. 041030150118.
complexity and cost of the robot system. Moreover, we would
like to recommend using multirobot cooperation and enabling
Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons
the robots to cooperate in fulfilling cleaning tasks. Each robot Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adap-
could play a role by using different cleaning techniques at dif- tation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as
ferent efficiencies and speeds. Such processes can inspire new you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, pro-
underwater cleaning technologies, which hypothetically can vide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were
made. The images or other third party material in this article are included
promote the entire underwater cleaning industry in a more ef- in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a
fective and efficient way. credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's
Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by
statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain
permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this
5 Summary and Conclusions licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

This paper describes the development of ship cleaning technol-

ogy over the past three decades, focusing on the classification of
different underwater cleaning techniques and the comparison
and analysis of different types of cleaning devices (e.g., rotary
References
brushes, high-pressure and cavitation water jet technology, ul- Adland R, Cariou P, Jia H, Wolff FC (2018) The energy efficiency effects
trasonic technology, laser cleaning technology). In addition, a of periodic ship hull cleaning. J Clean Prod 178:1–13. https://doi.
survey of different technologies for the adhesion to the hull is org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.12.247
428 Journal of Marine Science and Application

Albitar H, Ananiev A, Kalaykov I (2013) New concept of in-water sur- Floerl O, Peacock L, Seaward K, Inglis G (2010) Review of biosecurity
face cleaning robot. 2013 IEEE International Conference on and contaminant risks associated with in-water cleaning. The
Mechatronics and Automation, Takamatsu, pp 1582–1587 Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Sydney,
Albitar H, Ananiev A, Kalaykov I (2014) In-water surface cleaning robot: Australia The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric
concept, locomotion and stability. Int J Mechatron Auto 4(2):104– Research Report
115. https://doi.org/10.1504/ijma.2014.062338 Fowler MP (1987) Optical cleaning system for removing matter from
Albitar H, Dandan K, Ananiev A, Kalaykov I (2016) Underwater robot- underwater surfaces. U.S. Patent No. 4689523, Washington, DC:
ics: surface cleaning technics, adhesion and locomotion systems. Int U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, 2–3
J Adv Robot Syst 13(1):7. https://doi.org/10.5772/62060 Godwin LS (2003) Hull fouling of maritime vessels as a pathway for
Aldrich C, Qi BC (2005) Removal of organic foulants from membranes marine species invasions to the Hawaiian Islands. Biofouling
by use of ultrasound. Water Research Commission. University of 19(S1):123–131. https://doi.org/10.1080/0892701031000061750
Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch WRC Report No. 1229/1/05 Holappa KW, Darling DT, Hertel III WM (2013) Robotic submersible
Asbeck AT, Kim S, McClung A, Parness A, Cutkosky MR (2006) cleaning system. U.S. Patent No. 8506719, Washington, DC: U.S.
Climbing walls with microspines. IEEE International Conference Patent and Trademark Office, 4–5
on Robotics and Automation, Orlando, pp 4315–4317 Hopkins G, Forrest B, Coutts A (2009) Determining the efficacy of in-
Balashov VS, Gromov BA, Ermolov IL, Roskilly AP (2011) Cleaning by cursion response tools: rotating brush technology (coupled with suc-
means of the HISMAR autonomous robot. Russ Eng Res 31(6): tion capability). MAF Biosecurity, Wellington, New Zealand MAF
589–592. https://doi.org/10.3103/s1068798x11060049 Biosecurity Technical Report, Research Project ZBS2005-21
Bax N, Williamson A, Aguero M, Gonzalez E, Geeves W (2003) Marine Hua J, Chiu YS, Tsai CY (2018) En-route operated hydroblasting system
invasive alien species: a threat to global biodiversity. Mar Policy for counteracting biofouling on ship hull. Ocean Eng 152:249–256.
27(4):313–323. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0308-597x(03)00041-1 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oceaneng.2018.01.050
Bixler GD, Bhushan B (2012) Biofouling: lessons from nature. Philos Huang Z, Chen Y, Yang C, Fan J, Jiang P (2017) Teleoperate system of
Trans R Soc A Math Phys Eng Sci 370(1967):2381–2417. https:// underwater cleaning robot based on HUD. 11th Asian Control
doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2011.0502 Conference (ASCC), Gold Coast, Australia, pp 2675–2679
Caduff EA (1990) Robotic ultrasonic cleaning and spraying device for Kalumuck KM, Chahine GL, Frederick GS, Aley PD (1997)
ships’ hulls. U.S. Patent No. 4890567. Washington: U.S. Patent and Development of a DYNAJET cavitating water jet cleaning tool for
Trademark Office, 3–5 underwater marine fouling removal. 9th American Waterjet
Chambers LD, Stokes KR, Walsh FC, Wood RJ (2006) Modern ap- Conference, Dearborn, Michigan, USA, pp 541–554
proaches to marine antifouling coatings. Surf Coat Technol Kostenko VV, Bykanova AY, Tolstonogov AY (2019) Underwater ro-
201(6):3642–3652. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.surfcoat.2007.04.001 botics complex for inspection and laser cleaning of ships from bio-
Chen GX, Kwee TJ, Lei NR, Tan KP, Choo YS, Hong MH (2010) fouling. IOP Conf Ser: Earth Environ Sci 272(2):1–7
Underwater laser cleaning for marine and offshore applications. Lakretz A, Ron EZ, Mamane H (2009) Biofouling control in water by
International Congress on Applications of Lasers & Electro- various UVC wavelengths and doses. Biofouling 26(3):257–267.
Optics, Anaheim, California, USA, pp 456-460 https://doi.org/10.1080/08927010903484154
Chen GX, Kwee TJ, Tan KP, Choo YS, Hong MH (2012) High-power Lee MH, Park YD, Park HG, Park WC, Hong S, Lee KS, Chun HH
fibre laser cleaning for green shipbuilding. J Laser Micro/Nanoeng (2012) Hydrodynamic design of an underwater hull cleaning robot
7(3):249–253. https://doi.org/10.2961/jlmn.2012.03.0003 and its evaluation. Int J Naval Arch Ocean Eng 4(4):335–352.
Chen R, Fu Q, Liu Z, Hu X, Liu M, Song R (2017) Design and experi- https://doi.org/10.3744/jnaoe.2012.4.4.335
mental research of an underwater vibration suction module inspired Legg M, Yücel MK, De Carellan IG, Kappatos V, Selcuk C, Gan TH
by octopus suckers. 2017 IEEE International Conference on (2015) Acoustic methods for biofouling control: a review. Ocean
Robotics and Biomimetics (ROBIO), Macau, pp 1002–1007 Eng 103:237–247. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oceaneng.2015.04.070
Cioanta I, McGhin C (2017) Cleaning and grooming water submerged Longo D, Muscato G (2006) The Alicia/sup 3/climbing robot: a three-
structures using acoustic pressure shock waves. U.S. Patent No. module robot for automatic wall inspection. IEEE Robot Autom
9840313, Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, 3–4 Mag 13(1):42–50. https://doi.org/10.1109/mra.2006.1598052
Courson B, Shelburne J (2001) Portable encapsulated underwater ultra- Mazue G, Viennet R, Hihn JY, Carpentier L, Devidal P, Albaïna I (2011)
sonic cleaner. U.S. Patent No. 6259653, Washington, DC: U.S. Large-scale ultrasonic cleaning system: design of a multi-transducer
Patent and Trademark Office, 1–2 device for boat cleaning (20 kHz). Ultrason Sonochem 18(4):895–
Daltorio KA, Horchler AD, Gorb S, Ritzmann RE, Quinn RD (2005) A 900. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ultsonch.2010.11.021
small wall-walking robot with compliant, adhesive feet. 2005 IEEE Menon C, Murphy M, Sitti M (2004) Gecko inspired surface climbing
International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, robots. 2004 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and
Edmonton, pp 3648–3653 Biomimetics, Shenyang, China, pp 431–436
Davidson IC, McCann LD, Sytsma MD, Ruiz GM (2008) Interrupting a Morrisey DJ, Woods C (2015) In-water cleaning technologies: review of
multi-species bioinvasion vector: the efficacy of in-water cleaning information. Publications Logistics Office, Ministry for Primary
for removing biofouling on obsolete vessels. Mar Pollut Bull 56(9): Industries, Wellington, pp 20–25
1538–1544. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2008.05.024 Murphy MP, Tso W, Tanzini M, Sitti M (2006) Waalbot: an agile small-
Drake JM, Lodge DM (2007) Hull fouling is a risk factor for interconti- scale wall climbing robot utilizing pressure sensitive adhesives.
nental species exchange in aquatic ecosystems. Aquat Invasions 2006 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots
2(2):121–131. https://doi.org/10.3391/ai.2007.2.2.7 and Systems, Beijing, pp 3411–3416
Erneland MB (2014) Ultrasonic cleaning of marine geophysical equip- Nassiraei AAF, Sonoda T, Ishii K (2012) Development of ship hull
ment. U.S. Patent Application No. 13/629,412, Washington, DC: cleaning underwater robot. 2012 Fifth International Conference on
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, 1–3 Emerging Trends in Engineering and Technology, Himeji, pp 157–
Ferreira CZ, Conte GYC, Avila JPJ, Pereira RC, Ribeiro TMC (2013) 162
Underwater robotic vehicle for ship hull inspection: control system Oliveira D (2017) The enemy below-adhesion and friction of ship hull
architecture. 22nd International Congress of Mechanical fouling. Master thesis, Chalmers University of Technology,
Engineering, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil, pp 1231–1241 Gothenburg, Sweden, 56–67
C. Song, W. Cui: Review of Underwater Ship Hull Cleaning Technologies 429

Osaka T, Norita J (2014) Submersible cleaning robot. U.S. Patent No. Tan W, Zhang C, Liu L (2018) An introduction to biomimetic underwater
8757181, Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, 2–4 adhesion system. 13th World Congress on Intelligent Control and
Osaka T, Yakushiji H, Hirata D (2010) Underwater cleaning robot and Automation (WCICA), Changsha, China, pp 479–483
auxiliary cleaning work machine. U.S. Patent No. 12/735,720, Tribou M, Swain G (2010) The use of proactive in-water grooming to
Washington, DC:vU.S. Patent and Trademark Office, 3–4 improve the performance of ship hull antifouling coatings.
Pivovarov A (2009) Cleaning of submerged surfaces by discharge of Biofouling 26(1):47–56. https://doi.org/10.1080/
pressurized cavitating fluids. U.S. Patent No. 7494073, 08927010903290973
Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, 4–5 Unver O, Uneri A, Aydemir A, Sitti M (2006) Geckobot: a gecko inspired
Ross B, Bares J, Fromme C (2003) A semi-autonomous robot for strip- climbing robot using elastomer adhesives. Proceedings 2006 IEEE
ping paint from large vessels. Int J Robot Res 22(7–8):617–626. International Conference on Robotics and Automation, Orlando, pp
https://doi.org/10.1177/02783649030227010 2329–2335
Satpathy KK, Mohanty AK, Sahu G, Biswas S, Prasad MVR, Veiko VP, Shakhno EA (2002) Physical mechanisms of laser cleaning.
Slvanayagam M (2010) Biofouling and its control in seawater In: Boris L (ed) Laser cleaning. World Scientific, Singapore, pp
cooled power plant cooling water system-a review. In: Nuclear 311–340
Power, pp 191–242. https://doi.org/10.5772/9912 Vodenicharov S, Bratanov D, Michailova R, Stoychev K, Najdenov V
(2017) Underwater hull observation system ARMUS. 15th
Sattar T P, Zhao Z, Feng J, Bridge B, Mondal S, Chen S (2002) Internal
International Scientific Congress on Machines, Technologies,
in-service inspection of the floor and walls of oil, petroleum, and
Materials, Borovets, Bulgaria, pp 319–322
chemical storage tanks with a mobile robot. 5th International
Wotton DM, O'Brien C, Stuart MD, Fergus DJ (2004) Eradication suc-
Conference on Climbing and Walking Robots and the Support
cess down under: heat treatment of a sunken trawler to kill the
Technologies for Mobile Machines, Paris, France, pp 947-954
invasive seaweed Undaria pinnatifida. Mar Pollut Bull 49(9–10):
Silva MF, Machado JT (2010) A survey of technologies and applications 844–849. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2004.05.001
for climbing robots locomotion and adhesion. Climb Walk Robots: Yan H, Yin Q, Peng J, Bai B (2019) Multi-functional tugboat for moni-
1–22. https://doi.org/10.5772/8826 toring and cleaning bottom fouling. IOP Conf Ser: Earth Environ Sci
Smith FM, Colvin G (2014) Magnetic track. U.S. Patent Application No. 237(2):1–6. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/237/2/022045
2014/0077.587, Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Yi Z, Gong Y, Wang Z, Wang X (2009) Development of a wall climbing
Office, 6–7 robot for ship rust removal. 2009 International Conference on
Song WD, Hong MH, Lukyanchuk B, Chong TC (2004) Laser-induced Mechatronics and Automation, Changchun, pp 4610–4615
cavitation bubbles for cleaning of solid surfaces. J Appl Phys 95(6): Yuan FC, Guo LB, Meng QX, Liu FQ (2004) The design of underwater
2952–2956. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1650531 hull-cleaning robot. J Mar Sci Appl 3(1):41–45. https://doi.org/10.
Souto D, Faiña A, López-Peña F, Duro RJ (2013) Lappa: a new type of 1007/bf02918646
robot for underwater non-magnetic and complex hull cleaning. Zabin C, Davidson I, Ruiz G (2017) In-water vessel cleaning: current and
IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, emerging technologies, associated risks, and management options
Karlsruhe, pp 3409–3414 for Hawaii. Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Hawaii
Souto D, Faiña A, López-Peña F, Duro RJ (2015) Morphologically intel- State, USA Final report to the Hawaii State Department of Land
ligent underactuated robot for underwater hull cleaning. 2015 IEEE and Natural Resources
8th International Conference on Intelligent Data Acquisition and Zeng C, Cai ZX (2012) The study of hull cleaning remote-control ma-
Advanced Computing Systems: Technology and Applications, chine. Robot Tech Appl 29(1):14–17. https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.
Warsaw, Poland, pp 879–886 1004-6437.2012.01.005