New research has found shipowners could be spending an extra $6bn on fuel each year due to hull fouling.
The problem, which is likely to have escalated during the coronavirus crisis and tanker storage boom, may be responsible for vessels pumping an additional 110m tonnes of carbon emissions into the atmosphere.
"The true figure is likely to be higher, as this is a conservative calculation based on today’s relatively low fuel prices and only assumes a 10% coverage of hard fouling," I-Tech said.
