We continue to pioneer sustainable solutions.
Our company continues to develop solutions that reduce costs, enhance performance, and safeguard the marine environment. We are dedicated to enhancing the sustainability of our oceans amid challenges like climate change, shifting biodiversity, and increasing human impact. We strive to contribute valuable insights to the Blue Economy through ongoing research and innovation.
Integrity is one of our core values, encompassing accountability and commitment in all our actions. Aligned with Goal 14 (Life Below Water) of the United Nations’ 17 goals for ocean sustainability and development, we are dedicated to being accountable for respecting and preserving the oceans and seas.
We plan to engage in extensive research and development to introduce more sustainable antifouling and anticorrosion solutions to the market. This includes partnering with independent scientists to assess the efficacy and environmental impact of our low-frequency acoustic marine growth protection system (MGPS), aiming to enhance it further. Simultaneously, we are developing other innovative, sustainable products to combat biofouling and corrosion.
Research mandate
Over the last several years, we have struck a tremendous working relationship with Dr. Ashley Coutts, Managing Director and Principal Scientist of Biofouling Solutions in Tasmania, Australia’s island state. We look forward to working further with Dr. Coutts and his team as part of our research mandate to create more sustainability in our suite of solutions.
Our research to date has led to several answers that allow us to confidently offer MARELCO™ Wave as our current sustainable product for biofouling prevention.
Our first port of call was to answer the environmental question that worried our customers and ourselves: Does the system add to the environmental concern of shipping noise?
We asked Dr. Tom Dakin, Chief Scientist, at Sea to Shore Systems Ltd. in Sidney on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, to help us answer this question.
Dr. Dakin conducted sound source measurements in May 2021, off Macaulay Point in the Saanich Inlet—known for its deep waters and one of the best-studied marine basins in the world. The encouraging thing during data collection was that sound was only detectable at 1 meter away from the source. In addition, there was no further radiation of sound detectable. An in-depth analysis of the acoustic data showed that loudness (dB) across 20 and 27 Hz ranged between 116 and 132 dB (the lower the Hz, the lower the dB) referenced to 1 micropascal (dB re 1 µPa) at 1 meter. In his report dated August 2, 2021, Tom Dakin wrote that even “at the highest levels measured for this test, MARELCO™‘s low-frequency hydrosonic/acoustic “is well below the typical cargo vessel acoustic source levels seen by the author at all frequencies up to 25 kHz.”
Furthermore, a study conducted for the Port of Vancouver reported sound levels assessed for different vessels visiting the Port of Vancouver between October 2019 and December 2020. The loudest vessels of 18 vessel classes were large (≥ 200 m) container ships measuring up to 205.4 dB re 1 µPa and the quietest naval vessels, measuring up to 156.8 dB re 1 µPa.1
Confident in our sustainability approach
EMCS can now confidently say that sound emitted by our low-frequency hydrosonic/acoustic MGPS appears to be subsumed by the vessel’s sound profile. Therefore, it does not add to the shipping noise problem when fitted vessels are underway.
At this time, very little independent study exists for any frequency-based MGPS, and we have taken the step to change that as our sustainability contribution to improving the marine industry as it relates to its impact on the environment. We continue to invest in our research and development to support our mandate to be accountable and respect and look after the world’s vulnerable ocean ecosystems.
Contact our team today to learn more about the MARELCO™ WAVE.
Reference
1 JASCO Applied Sciences (March 18, 2021). Annual Report of Boundary Pass Acoustic Monitoring, Year October 2 2019, to Dec 2020. https://www.portvancouver.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/2021-06-11-BP-Underwater-acoustic-noise-monitoring-Year-2.pdf
