Lomar, a preeminent player in ship ownership and management with nearly five decades of experience, has entered into a transformative collaboration with Alicia Bots, a technology startup known for pioneering robotics and mobility solutions tailored to the maritime, offshore, and oil and gas sectors.
This partnership represents a watershed moment in the maritime industry, where hull maintenance and sustainability are at the forefront. Lomar's alliance with Alicia Bots Inc. is poised to revolutionize biofouling control methods, supported by cutting-edge robotic hull inspection and grooming solutions. It represents a giant leap forward in the maritime industry's quest for operational efficiency and environmental responsibility.
Under the terms of the agreement, Lomar plans to deploy Alicia Bots' state-of-the-art robotic technology on up to fifteen of its vessels. The autonomous hull cleaning technology promises to significantly reduce hull fouling, resulting in reduced fuel consumption, cost savings, and a significant reduction in carbon emissions.
Alicia Bots has developed versatile, multi-purpose magnetic crawler robots designed for autonomous or tethered remote operation. These robots excel at underwater inspection and maintenance tasks on ships and other steel structures. By adopting a proactive underwater cleaning regimen, Lomar aims to not only reduce fuel consumption but also reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, this approach extends the life of antifouling coatings, reduces point source discharges, lowers the cost of reactive underwater cleaning initiatives, and helps prevent the inadvertent transport of invasive species.
Precision robotics combined with AI-driven analytics enable these adaptive crawlers to facilitate safer, more efficient, and proactive maritime practices. Beyond hull maintenance, these robots have applications in cargo hold washing and cleaning, firefighting, corrosion detection, repair support, data collection, underwater inspection, and thickness measurement.
Lomar's forward-thinking corporate venture lab, lomarlabs, will be an active participant in this collaboration. It will provide valuable insights into the development of robotics, particularly in the pursuit of autonomous marine drones. This cutting-edge technology has the potential to eliminate the need for human intervention in hazardous environments, such as underwater diving for routine maintenance.
Lomar is also extending its support to Alicia Bots by making its vessels available for testing new use cases. This initiative has received a grant from the Singapore Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) to conduct underwater inspection and cleaning trials in Singapore.
Nicholas Georgiou, CEO of Lomar, expressed the company's commitment to technology solutions that improve operational and environmental efficiency. He said, "Alicia Bots has developed outstanding systems that have tremendous potential to transform existing labor-intensive maintenance processes with more efficient and effective AI technology while reducing fuel costs and emissions."
Inder Mukhopadhyay, CEO of Alicia Bots, highlighted the joint commitment to innovation and sustainability. He remarked, "Together, we are ushering in a new era of hull care, where cutting-edge technology, like ROVERCLEAN, not only ensures a clean hull at all times but also paves the way for a greener and more efficient maritime future."
With a diverse fleet of approximately 30 container ships, bulk carriers, and chemical tankers, Lomar is a leader in ship ownership and management. With nearly five decades of industry experience, Lomar's fleets have transported millions of tons of cargo annually.
In October 2022, Lomar expanded its horizons with the acquisition of Carl Büttner Holding GmbH & Co. KG, a renowned owner and manager of petroleum product and chemical tankers based in Bremen, Germany. This strategic move exemplified Lomar's commitment to diversification and risk mitigation and underscored its forward-looking approach.
