Launch · Mobility & Logistics

Mafkin Robotics launches underwater hull cleaning robots

What they do

Mafkin Robotics builds autonomous underwater robots to inspect and clean ship hulls

It has developed two robots, Noah and Angad, and completed pilots with L&T and Cochin Shipyard

The company plans to expand across Indian ports and then to international maritime markets

Mafkin Robotics has developed autonomous underwater robots for ship-hull inspection and cleaning.
The robots replace traditional diver-based methods that are expensive, time-consuming, and risky.
Its product Noah performs underwater biofouling removal and non-destructive testing (NDT) of vessel hulls.
Its product Angad does high-pressure cleaning and NDT inspections in confined spaces above water.
The robots are magnetic crawlers equipped with inspection gauges, rotating brushes, and high-pressure water jets.
They can work 24/7 and are unaffected by underwater conditions.
The company completed pilots with Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL).

Marine organisms on hulls increase drag, fuel consumption, and emissions; regular cleaning improves hydrodynamic efficiency.
Regular maintenance can reduce fuel consumption by nearly 15%.
Traditional underwater ship maintenance uses divers, which is expensive, time-consuming, weather-dependent, and risky.
Founder Sarthak Vaishnav got the idea during COVID while watching his uncle, an oil tanker captain, delayed by ship maintenance in Canada.

Mafkin Robotics builds autonomous underwater robots for ship-hull inspection and cleaning.
It offers two products: Noah for underwater hull cleaning and inspection, and Angad for confined spaces above water.
The robots perform non-destructive testing (NDT) including ultrasonic (UT) gauging, corrosion mapping, and coating failure detection.
The company follows a service-first business model: it leases robotic services instead of selling robots outright.
This approach lowers adoption barriers and helps gather customer feedback.
It has completed pilots with Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL).
The company was bootstrapped for about 2.5 years and received grants from the Government of India and CSL.
It also received incubation support from IIM-K, VIT, and SIST.