MARINE services provider Franmarine has entered a multi-year pilot program with Fremantle Ports for its first commercial in-water hull cleaning operation.
The commercial pilot will be for an initial 12-month term, followed by two potential one-year extensions.
Franmarine chief executive Adam Falconer-West said the agreement enabled opportunities to refine their approach in real commercial operations.
“The scientific assessment confirmed that our integrated MarineStream align with where national standards are heading, and gave us a clear pathway for continued improvement,” he said.
Under a risk-based approach, Franmarine will provide in-water cleaning services to commercial and government vessels berthed across Fremantle’s Inner Harbour, Rous Head Harbour, and the Australian Marine Complex.
The agreement follows an initial scientific assessment conducted in June 2025, where O2 Marine independently evaluated Franmarine’s cleaning and capture system against the draft national standards.
The preliminary assessment, undertaken in partnership with Fremantle Ports and Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD), provided “suitable confidence” to state regulators that under strict conditions, biosecurity, and chemical contamination risks of IWHC are “mitigated to an acceptable level”.
This facilitated approval of the commercial agreement to allow for further testing.
Franmarine biofouling manager Mat Harvey said the pilot was where their technology will be put to the real test.
“Fourteen years of technology development got us to that initial assessment,” he said.
“This pilot is where the real work continues.”
DPIRD’s biosecurity advice and oversight and Fremantle Ports’ operational coordination was essential to both the initial assessment and the pilot agreement.
The collaborative approach is viewed as a practical model for implementing Australia’s national biofouling guidelines as they move toward finalisation.
Svitzer has joined the pilot as an industry partner to help deliver practical biofouling management solutions, while also contributing to decarbonisation objectives.