With over six decades of experience under its belt, Scamp is utilising advanced technology to meet customer demand for quick, effective and environmentally sound underwater cleaning and maintenance solutions.
Gibraltar-based Scamp operates one of the biggest underwater repair and maintenance networks covering some 280 locations worldwide. This global operation is coordinated from the company’s headquarters in Gibraltar, a strategic location where the company has in recent years invested in advanced underwater hull cleaning machines to help customers maintain vessel performance and reduce fuel consumption.
According to a spokesperson, “Scamp’s primary objective is to increase our customers profits, by minimising fuel consumption and maximising hull efficiency. We utilise tried and tested hull cleaning machines that are globally recognised as the most effective means to recuperate vessels’ performance and service speed. Advanced cleaning techniques and equipment ensure that no damage is caused to the most delicate of anti-fouling systems, such as silicone and other soft-coated paints.”
This equipment includes ROVs, which are deployed in both Gibraltar and Algeciras. These remotely operated machines, designed to meet the most stringent environmental requirements, have proved highly successful since their introduction a few years ago. The Scamp ROVs uses a high-pressure water jet cleaning system, which preserves a vessel’s top coating and removes marine fouling, ranging from slime to calcareous growth, which is then automatically recollected by means of a fouling recovery system. The ROV is powered by a 37Kw electric motor, converting energy into hydraulic power to allow an in-depth hull cleaning of all areas required. The ROV can also carry out photographic and video inspections of vessel’s hull and marine fouling condition, providing instant photographic and video imagery onsite.
Additionally, Scamp has over many years developed the ‘Scamp Machine’, a diver-controlled device that is similarly designed to minimise ecological impact. This machinery adheres to the hull through the intense suction force created by its central impeller, which also directs fouling through the impeller tunnel and destroys harmful invasive marine species. The debris is then converted into a fine residue which is returned to the sea as sand, limiting the impact to the local marine environment.
As well as hull cleaning Scamp offers a wide range of services, including propeller polishing, inspections and surveys and underwater and afloat repairs. The spokesperson adds,”Safety is the highest priority for the group across all these services. We are committed to an incident free workplace, every day and everywhere that we provide underwater services, only using the latest safety technology available to ensure that the expert teams are not put at risk, even when working in challenging environments. Every location where Scamp assists uses the latest surface air supply, and we constantly monitor industry trends to ensure we are the safest we can be, at all times.”
