Maritime transport is the first preference for shipping any cargo globally with roughly 90 % of all goods transported worldwide being carried by more than 50,000 ships [1]. However, the commercial viability of a global merchant fleet depends heavily on the shell of the vessels and biofouling, caused by plant and animal growth on the ship's hull below the waterline, is a cause for serious concern. Besides aesthetic issues and the damaging impact this has on the hull coatings, biofouling tremendously increases drag and therewith the energy needed to move the cargo ships, resulting in a much greater CO ...