A striking new office complex has been unveiled at the Port of Southampton by ECOsubsea, the hull-cleaning company.

Their funky new base in the Eastern Docks is constructed from re-purposed shipping containers and arranged over two levels. On the ground floor they have storage and changing rooms and on the upper level there is office space and a meeting room with panoramic views of the port.

ECOsubsea CEO, Tor Ostervold, explained the new base in Southampton was designed to be their international centre of excellence.

“The opening of this brand new office is a fantastic milestone for our company. The Port of Southampton has been very significant in the development of our business and it is only fitting that we should house our centre of excellence here,” he said.

ECOsubsea is licensed to clean the hulls of cruise ships and Ro-Ro vessels while they are in the port using the very latest underwater robot cleaning technology. By cleaning the hulls, they help to minimise the spread of alien species, reduce fuel costs by up to 15 per cent and in turn cut Co2 emissions from vessels.

Earlier this year, the company was recognised for fuel efficiency at the Seatrade Awards.

“We have been developing this technology for 10 years and we came to Southampton because they had some of the most rigorous bio-risk policies in the world.

“We have invested £14 million so far to get our business to this stage. The service that we have developed in Southampton is now ready to be scaled up and introduced to a global market.”

General Manager WWT, Michael Rye, said: “ECOsubsea and Wallenius Wilhelmsen have had a close partnership going all the way back to 2013. It is tremendous to see and experience their growth and global impact.

“Biofouling is a recognised global threat in the spread of invasive species but also creates a significant negative impact on air emissions through hull drag. ECOsubsea’s hull cleaning technology tackles both of these threats in the most efficient and environmentally friendly method.

“Wallenius Wilhelmsen remains on the forefront of environmental focus on both ocean and land activities. This has been the driver of partnering with ECOsubsea. ECOsubsea is a gamechanger for the entire shipping industry. For example, by utilising this cutting-edge technology, we are able to reduce the fuel consumption of a Ro-Ro vessel by approximately 10 per cent – enough to fuel up to 60 buses.”

COO Klaus Ostervold said there were eight people employed at their Southampton base and they are currently recruiting.

ABP Southampton Senior Surveyor, Ben Ross, said: “We’re delighted that ECOsubsea has chosen to open its international centre of excellence in Southampton.

“It’s great to see such a creative use of some simple containers to create an office and workshop environment that is eye catching, efficient, flexible and fun!”