ECOsubsea - Experts & Thought Leaders

Nor-Shipping, in partnership with YoungShip International, has crowned Alisha Fredriksson, CEO and Co-Founder of pioneering carbon capture company Seabound, winner of the Nor-Shipping 2025 Young Entrepreneur Award. Fredriksson collected the accolade yesterday evening in Oslo, triumphing over a high-quality shortlist featuring Kvasir Technologies’ CEO Joachim Bachmann Nielsen, Fabian Fussek, Co-Founder and CEO of Kaiko Systems, and Josephine Le, Founder of The Hood Platform. Fredriksson now joins a prestigious list of former title holders, all of whom were under 40 at the time of winning, such as Cristina Aleixendri of bound4blue, Value Maritime’s Christiaan Nijst, Tor M. Østervold of ECOsubsea, Brim Explorer’s Espen Larsen-Hakkebo and Agnes Árnadóttir, Tuomas Riski of Norsepower, and Boyan Slat of The Ocean Cleanup. Visionary impact Sidsel Norvik, Director, Nor-Shipping, congratulated the Seabound CEO on her achievement, noting: “Alisha represents the very best of the next generation in ocean leadership—visionary, driven, and wholly committed to making a real-world impact." "Her work at Seabound is not only innovative, but deeply aligned with the core Nor-Shipping 2025 theme of #Future-Proof. We’re incredibly proud to recognise her in Nor-Shipping’s 60th anniversary year.” Sustainable and resilient maritime future Erlend Holberg, Secretary General of YoungShip International, adds: “Alisha’s selection is a testament to the impact she’s already made, and the potential she has to shape a more sustainable and resilient maritime future." "The calibre of candidates this year was outstanding, so for Alisha to stand out speak volumes about her achievements. She embodies the type of leadership we need more of - solutions-focused, inclusive, and unafraid to challenge the status quo.” Rapid progress Fredriksson has quickly achieved acclaim within the industry after co-founding Seabound in 2021 Fredriksson has quickly achieved acclaim within the industry after co-founding Seabound in 2021 with the mission to tackle one of maritime’s most pressing decarbonisation challenges - exhaust emissions. Under her leadership, the climate tech company has rapidly developed and deployed onboard carbon capture systems, starting in 2023 with successful sea trials capturing up to 80% of CO₂ emissions on a 3,200 TEU container ship. Transforming vessel emissions In an innovative twist, Seabound has also demonstrated the viability of transforming vessel emissions into solid limestone for reuse. Fredriksson’s work has earned her spots on the Forbes 30 Under 30, MIT Innovators Under 35, and the Women In Change Awards lists. Nor-Shipping 2025 is taking place now in Oslo and Lillestrøm, with a packed activity programme running through to 6 June. More than 50,000 global decision-makers are expected to participate, with around 1,000 exhibiting companies showcasing the very latest innovations, products and services in the maritime and ocean industries.

Government agency Innovation Norway provides sustainable hull-cleaning pioneer ECOsubsea with a NOK 69m (USD 6.2m) Green Growth Loan that will part-fund the construction of more of the company's next-generation hull-cleaning robots, as it gears up to significantly expand its operations in the world's second-busiest port. The Austevoll-based company undertook its first commercial clean in Singapore in the autumn, using its first next-generation cleaning robot dubbed the 'Pink Panther'. Cleanings are performed while vessels are bunkering at anchor, with the robot deployed from a specially adapted tug vessel. Retrofitting port service vessels Green Growth Loan will support the construction of further robots in a project worth NOK 150m in total The Green Growth Loan will support the construction of further robots in a project worth NOK 150m in total. The robots will be built in Norway and deployed in Singapore, while the total project cost includes the cost of retrofitting port service vessels to carry them.  Increasing ECOsubsea's capacity in Singapore comes as ship operators increasingly realise the bottom-line value of keeping hulls clean, reducing fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. Strong head-start in a huge market "The purpose of Green Growth Loans is to incentivise private capital while providing attractive terms for companies investing in climate-friendly solutions," said Innovation Norway CEO Håkon Haugli.  "ECOsubsea's results have surpassed all expectations, and this year will be the first full year of operation for the Pink Panther. We are proud this unique solution has been developed by a Norwegian company. ECOsubsea has secured a strong head-start in a huge market and have big ambitions to scale up the business in the coming years. With this load we are actively contributing to that effort." New robots target delivered within 2025 The loan will be matched with equity from private investors over the next six months The loan will be matched with equity from private investors over the next six months and the plan is to have the new robots target delivered within 2025. ECOsubsea Managing Director Tor Mikal Østervold added: "It's a question of keeping the status quo or taking concrete action to minimise marine fouling. The only way to do this is scaling safe, effective and eco-friendly solutions. As market pioneer we have a clear advantage and strong technology competence. The loan provides a catalyst for us to scale faster and make an even bigger contribution to preserving the environment. So we are very grateful for Innovation Norway's support and collaboration." Ten times faster than divers ECOsubsea performed its first commercial cleaning in 2012 and has developed its hull cleaning technology iteratively since then. The new Pink Panther cleans hulls in 7.66-metre swathes, enabling a large tanker to be cleaned in just four hours. This compares with up to 40 hours for traditional cleaning methods using divers with the ship at berth. The ability to clean hulls while bunkering at anchor is a major time-saver, contributing to safer and more efficient turnarounds.  Benefits for the local marine environment The patented Pink Panther technology also offers strong benefits for the local marine environment The patented Pink Panther technology also offers strong benefits for the local marine environment and climate generally.  The robot collects all fouling debris from hulls, minimising the spread of invasive species and stopping hull-coating toxins from polluting the seabed. Hull cleaning market ECOsubsea estimates that effective, industry-wise hull cleaning has the potential to reduce emissions from shipping by 100 million tons of CO2 globally every year. The company aims to cut two million tons in 2025 alone. Going forward its long-term ambition is to capture 50% of the hull cleaning market through a global network of 250 cleaning robots in locations including Singapore, Panama, Suez and Gibraltar where ships concentrate.

Having handled more than a million port calls, Wilhelmsen has established itself as the provider of ships agency services. On 7 June, Wilhelmsen Port Services is announced during the Posidonia tradeshow in Athens. Port Services sets a unique course for the future of the ships agency industry and the entire port ecosystem. One of the key steps taken already is to establish an internal incubator for new innovations and solutions, building on their reliable network and heritage, expanding far beyond agency. Reducing fuel consumption With several initiatives already in the market, Wilhelmsen Port Services is actively driving disruption, shaping tomorrow’s port experience today. “With the establishment of Wilhelmsen Port Services we are taking a long and hard look at the port value chain to see where we can play a bigger role, and we are really looking forward to developing a truly unique port services offering,” says Neal de Roche, President of Wilhelmsen Port Services. Going beyond traditional ships agency offerings, greater efficiency in port, a new approach to port call management as well as biofouling monitoring to reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions are just some of the features customers can expect coming from Port Services going forward. Solid biofouling strategies Data from the inspection is analysed and made available to customers within short ECOsubsea using drones to inspect the hull not only slashes the cost of biofouling monitoring by more than 70 %, it also significantly reduces risk and time spent. In combination with Wilhelmsen’s vast agency network across ports, biofouling monitoring becomes more easily accessible than ever. The outcome is seamless hull inspections executed within the hour and without operational disruptions such as diver restrictions. Data from the inspection is analysed and made available to customers within short, who then get’s immediate access to the condition of the hull of their vessel or entire fleet. Customers have access to all their data in an easy to use interface, making it simple to create solid biofouling strategies and an optimized cleaning schedule. This does not only reduce costs, it also reduces emissions and it prevents spread of invasive and harmful species in fragile ecosystems. Delivering marine products “Wilhelmsen Port Services (WPS) is exactly what the industry needs today. There are many great solutions and services that today are only available locally. Building upon its reputable track record and one of a kind global footprint, Port Services will be the enabler of change to happen for the whole industry. For ECOsubsea, WPS is key to solve more environmental problems in 1 year than what we could do alone in 10 years.” Tor M. Østervold, CEO ECOsubsea AS. Wilhelmsen Ships Service continues as before to deliver marine products and more as Ship Agency leaves Ships Service and enters it’s new home in Wilhelmsen Port Services. Ships Service is still the provider of maritime essentials to the worlds merchant fleet, including brands such as Unitor, Timm ropes, Unicool and Nalfleet.