Barnacle Boom: Divers Race to Clean Ships Stranded in Persian Gulf

By Stella Mackler (Bloomberg) —

Demand for ocean divers who specialize in barnacle scraping is soaring as ships stranded in the Persian Gulf for more than three months prepare to disembark.

The surge in orders for crews to clean ship hulls fouled by algae, slime and crustaceans has jumped more than 30-fold since US President Donald Trump announced an interim peace deal with Iran that will reopen the Strait of Hormuz, said Captain Manandeep Singh Kukreja, chief surveyor at Dubai-based Prominence Shipping Services LLC.

The rush has the potential to push the fees commanded by scraping crews for underwater work on a