Rise-X, Franmarine and Clean SubSea Partner in JV to Develop the World's First Blockchain Enabled Marine Bio-security Platform – BioPass.

Leveraging the Rise-X ecosystem orchestration technology the BioPass project aims to address industry concerns over marine biosecurity – specifically marine growth on the hull of ships otherwise known as biofouling.

Brian Purio
July 25, 2019

Perth: Leveraging the Rise-X ecosystem orchestration technology the BioPass project aims to address industry concerns over marine biosecurity – specifically marine growth on the hull of ships otherwise known as biofouling. Biofouling is now recognised by the IMO as a major vector for bio-invasions, presenting a risk to biogeographic regions which is equal to if not greater than the threat posed by improper treatment of ballast water.   

To address this global issue. the international maritime organisation (IMO) have developed global guidelines for the control and management of ships’ biofouling. The Guidelines (resolution MEPC.207(62)) are intended to provide a globally consistent approach to the management of biofouling.  

BioPass is a novel technology platform designed to support the implementation of the IMO biofouling guidelines while also enhancing stakeholder and institutional cooperation to reduce the risk bio-invasions while also reducing the costs associated with managing this risk.  

BioPass is an intuitive management system designed to capture data from in water survey, inspection and hull cleaning apparatus. BioPass captures data about the condition of the ship’s hull during the process of inspection or cleaning using novel IoT enabled devices to capture real time video information. Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI) identify potential invasive marine species (IMS) and eDNA testing is used to confirm and or determine the presence of invasive marine species.  

Data captured during the in-water hull cleaning process is stored and maintained in a permissioned blockchain to allow Ship Owners to easily share their biofouling management plan, biofouling maintenance records and information (Collectively referred to as their BioPass) with Port Authorities across multiple jurisdictions, allowing for frictionless vessel entry under controlled conditions.  

BioPass will (a) dramatically improve the biosecurity of global marine environments, (b) reduce the cost to operate for marine vessel owners and operators, (c) reduce the cost of compliance with incoming IMO GloFoul regulations, and (d) reduce the cost of managing compliance for Australian and international port authorities.  

 

About Rise-X

Rise-X builds enterprise solutions to support value chain and supply chain automation.​ Rise-X aims to build an innovative digital solutions to enable autonomous commerce to support machine to machine commercial opportunities and unlock new frontiers of productivity, reduce industry impact on the planet and create new opportunities for people to make a significant contribution to their families, communities and society.​

About Clean SubSea

CleanSubsea is a Western Australian based company which owns all licenses and patents associated with a revolutionary new fully enclosed capture and containment hull cleaning technology called the Envirocart.

The successfully tested Envirocart enables the complete in-water removal, capture and containment of marine biofouling from a vessels hull without damaging the antifouling paint or polluting the surrounding marine environment.

For more information about Clean SubSea please visit: cleansubsea.com.au

About Franmarine

Franmarine is Australia’s leading commercial diving company. They have more than three decades of experience in onshore and offshore diving and hull cleaning services. They specialize in conducting in-water surveys and inspections, corrosion control and protection, subsea welding, salvage, subsea drilling, pipeline installation, subsea construction, mooring installation and maintenance, hull cleaning and a wide range of offshore services to the oil and gas industry.

For more information about Franmarine please visit: franmarine.com.au