Even internal parts of a ship suffer from biofouling. This grate on R/V Atlantis covers the inlet where seawater is drawn into pipes to cool the ship's mechanical systems. The grate keeps large organisms from entering the pipes, but small ones, including larval barnacles, can still enter, and the grate itself can develop a heavy encrustation of fouling organisms. This photo was taken while the ship was in drydock in November, 2012. The grate is low on the starboard bow; another one is on the port bow. (Photo by Dutch Wegman, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)[back]
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