The focus of this document is how to reduce the environmental impact and how to measure the performance of the hull and propeller in maintenance and operation.
First, the scope and applicability are bound and the problem of hull roughness, hull fouling, and propeller fouling is defined. Section 2, Statement of the Problem, describes the fuel consumption consequences of fouling and why fouling is a persistent challenge to ship owners. The MVEP Standard Assessment Methodology, Section 3, is the core of this document. The Assessment Methodology has four components: Prerequisite, Prescriptive Measures, Quantitative Metric, and Zero Impact. Section 4, Justifications, gives further direction on how and why the four components are defined. Current regulations and initiatives on this impact are given in Section 5. Future developments in measurement and monitoring, as well as in hull coating and cleaning systems, are suggested and highlighted in Section 6. The integration of the proposed measures into the overall strategy to reduce emissions is discussed in Section 7. A comparison of different hull coating systems is provided in Appendix A.