You are using an outdated browser For a better experience using this site, please upgrade to a modern web browser. Subscribe Get Daily Email Subscribe --> Contact Us Sign in Home News & Features Compliance Costs Bunker Prices Bunker Intelligence World News Latest Features World Americas EMEA Asia/Pacific Home News & Features World Gulf Biofouling May Add 1% to Global Bunker Demand Gulf Biofouling May Add 1% to Global Bunker Demand by Ship & Bunker News Team Thursday June 18, 2026 Tweet Follow @shipandbunker The warm waters of the Gulf are likely to have been highly conducive to barnacle growth for the ships stuck there. File Image / Pixabay Middle Eastern barnacles may be about to claim a significant role in the global bunker market. While the market anticipates the impact of the Strait of Hormuz potentially reopening in the coming weeks, getting less attention is the state of the vessels trapped behind it in the Gulf for the past three months . These ships have been idling for months in waters highly conducive to biofouling - the build-up of slime, algae and calcareous organisms like barnacles on their hulls - which is likely severely to limit their fuel efficiency when and if they start moving again. "The Persian Gulf is one of the most biologically aggressive fouling environments in the world: extreme heat, high salinity, and elevated nutrient levels create conditions where fouling succession from biofilm to barnacles accelerates dramatically compared to temperate waters," Dr Markus Hoffman , technical director of I-Tech AB - the makers of antifouling agent Selektope - told Ship & Bunker . “ The Persian Gulf is one of the most biologically aggressive fouling environments in the world "Some fouling species, such as barnacles, can only settle under static conditions — so the current situation combines static vessels with exceptionally fouling-aggressive waters, a particularly dangerous combination." There are currently around 500-600 large ships in