Welcome to the NAHO Blog

Welcome to the NAHO blog.

There are important developments coming to the until now archaic methods for keeping ships—particularly their hulls—performing efficiently. NAHO is bringing new technology to North America that will streamline hull optimization into regular port operations, do it at highly competitive rates, and save ship operators substantial sums in the process. The repercussions are many: the frequency of hull cleaning and grooming is likely to change, the frequency of dry docking is likely to change, hull inspection approaches will certainly change, even the type of hull coatings used to reduce biofouling will most likely change, and the way documentation, clean-hull-certifications and other management practices will also most likely change, especially over time.

This is what this blog is for. We will discuss all things related to hull optimization and its implications for shipping—fuel consumption, CO2 releases, approaches to hull coating, invasive species mitigation, and other effects and benefits for the maritime shipping industry. As you see there are many aspects to consider and each is worthy of in-depth discussion.

We will also devote space to the health of our local waters, both in terms of invasive spaces and their destructive effects on the local water environment, and strategies to prevent these invasive species. Prevention is by far the economical alternative to the invasive species problem. Take the example of the recent golden mussel infestation in the Sacramento River Delta. Simply holding the many water management and irrigation systems operational are estimated to run over $200 million, and could go as high as $500 million. Annually.

That is just one example of our local water environment needing all the help it can get. But no green technology is adopted unless there is a compelling bottom-line case for it—the competition in the shipping industry is simply too strong for that. By presenting arguably the first service model that delivers strong bottom-line results first, and environmental benefits as a direct consequence of it, we believe we have the technology and the approach to deliver a win-win. And that proposition will be tested in the interactions on this blog.

Thank you for becoming part of our community. We are looking forward to continuing our discussions, and will soon open for comments and articles from guests and readers.

Till next time,

The NAHO Team