Biofouling Management is a natural process whereby biofilms of various organisms form on artificial surfaces that are constantly submerged. It is one of the world's major environmental concerns and a problem that directly affects the maritime industry.

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From an economic point of view, the main concern for the maritime industry is the increase in fuel consumption due to increased hydrodynamic drag, as biofouling decreases the vessel's ability to break surface tension.  Depending on the type of vessel, fuel consumption can increase by 40% per year over the usual expenditure, i.e. an increase of more than 120 million tons for a commercial fleet, which in US dollars can amount to more than 30 billion per year, in addition to the difficulties caused by global inflation.

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From a technical point of view, biofouling also affects the maneuverability of the ship, as it occurs on the surface of the propellers and causes corrosion problems on the steel surfaces of ships, which also leads to increased maintenance costs.

 

In environmental terms, the main problems can be defined around two axes. One is the increased contribution of greenhouse gases due to the increased use of fuel. And the second is the transport of species, which causes serious alterations to ecosystems and even poses health risks, as exotic species can act as a means of spreading diseases.

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The growing problem of biofouling has triggered international action with legal and research initiatives in constant introspection, with the aim of finding highly effective solutions. To this purpose, the International Maritime Organization IMO publishes in 2011 guidelines for the control and management of biofouling from ships to minimize the transfer of invasive aquatic species through resolution MEPC.207 (62).

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