Robotics Startup ScrubMarine Secures Funding for Autonomous Ship Hull Cleaning Innovation

ScrubMarine, a maritime robotics startup headquartered in the United Kingdom and led by 22-year-old Rohith Devanathan, has raised over £750,000 in venture funding to advance the development of its autonomous hull-cleaning robots. The investment, led by SFC Capital and PXN Ventures, will support the completion of ScrubMarine’s prototype, team expansion in Whitehaven, and the growth of its operations base in Edinburgh as the company moves towards commercial trials.

ScrubMarine’s business model projects annual revenue of £56 million within five years. Investors believe the technology will have significant applications across industries including merchant shipping, offshore wind, oil and gas, and luxury yachts.

The primary challenge ScrubMarine aims to address is biofouling, the accumulation of algae, barnacles, and biofilm on ship hulls. This process accelerates drag, increases fuel consumption, and is estimated to cost the global maritime sector over one hundred billion pounds annually. Traditional hull cleaning methods are costly and often require ships to be taken out of service or for divers to perform dangerous underwater tasks.

The company’s flagship product, the Turtle robotic vacuum, is engineered to remove biofouling without harming protective hull coatings. It also collects inspection data, delivering a combined cleaning and assessment solution in one pass. The Turtle uses cavitation, a water-bubble technology, to dislodge debris. This method is robust enough to clean effectively yet gentle enough to preserve the integrity of surfaces.

At less than 50 kilograms in weight, the Turtle is significantly smaller than competing solutions, many of which require heavy lifting equipment and diver supervision. This size advantage streamlines deployment while enhancing operational safety.

ScrubMarine is developing an additional autonomous vehicle, the Whale, which will transport several Turtle units offshore and retrieve them without the need for port infrastructure or manned boats. The Whale is intended to allow vessel cleaning and inspection without exposing personnel to risk or incurring the high costs associated with traditional diver operations.

The company’s origins trace to Rohith Devanathan’s time at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, where he founded ScrubMarine while pursuing a degree in robotics engineering. The startup’s recent investment round was supported by the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund and private investors including Graham Westgarth, former president of the UK Chamber of Shipping, and Colin Greene, former Apple chief executive for the country.