Jobs at Fleet Robotics

We are tackling a thousand-year-old problem: the growth of biofouling on ships. Biofouling is the growth of microorganisms, algae, barnacles, and larger ocean organisms on the ship’s hull. As the ship delivers our goods around the world, the growth of these organisms significantly increases the drag forces on the ship and in doing so, significantly increases fuel consumption. Ships are the world’s largest consumers of carbon-heavy fuels (called bunker fuels). A covering of biofouling just half a millimeter thick can increase emissions up to 30%, which translates to multiple tons of bunker fuel per day, per ship. Conventionally, the commercial shipping industry handles biofouling in two ways: preventatively, by coating the ship’s hull in a highly toxic paint that discourages growth, and reactively, by stopping operations every five years or so to have divers scrape off years of fouling that grows anyway (not to mention scraping off the toxic paint). We think this is akin to deciding never to brush your teeth, because you go to the dentist every five years. There has to be a better way.