Options to Save Fuel Costs in Shipping

GL First Class Exchange Forum Athens

Athens, 24 September 2009 - "How to make ships more efficient?" This was the key question posed this week at Germanischer Lloyd's (GL) workshop for the Greek maritime community in Athens. 45 representatives from shipping companies, supply industry and flag states attended the event hosted by Vice President Athanasios Reisopoulos, Area Mediterranean / Southern Africa.

"Reducing the environmental impact of shipping in order to upgrade its image as an environmentally friendly mode of transportation, is one of the most important topics for the maritime industry," he said in his introduction. Prof. Dr. Volker Bertram and Dr. Karsten Hochkirch from GL and its subsidiary Future Ship were prepared to share the details of how this could be done.

Greatest savings during design phase

While there are significant savings from operational and low-level technical changes, the greatest savings generally can be achieved when engineering optimisations are taken into account. Most ships were designed for operating conditions that are no longer valid. For example, a ship with a design speed of 25 knots might be operated at 18 knots in today's environment. "Since its bulbous bow is not optimised for this speed, the generated wave patterns cause the water resistance to increase", explained Hochkirch. As a result, fuel costs rise.

But hull lines and bulbous bows alone are not the only determinants of resistance. Hochkirch said: "That is why FutureShip's ECO-Chances is designed to provide a holistic evaluation of a ship. Utilising advanced software tools, such as FutureShip's dedicated flow simulation/optimisation tools and powerful parametric modelling software, experts assess the ship from top to bottom to identify the most promising focus areas for optimisation." A typical evaluation might result in a series of five to six engineering options that offer significant fuel savings. These are presented with estimates of expected savings as well as estimated return on investment.

Some of the suggested options may require additional engineering before implementation. However, hydrodynamic optimisations, for example, often require detailed studies by experienced engineers with advanced software tools in order to optimise results. For these situations, FutureShip offers the services of their engineering experts and partners in the form of its ECO-Solutions service.

FutureShip offers a catalogue of services with a common objective: optimizing ships, both those in operation and those yet to be built. Services also comprise the FuelSaver programme, including CO2-analysis (ECO-Patterns) and operational fuel consumption analysis (ECO-Practices) services.

System-oriented solutions

"Ship technology is system technology" said Dr. Bertram in his presentation about GL's engineering and environmental services. "Saving fuel costs is one thing but there are many more marine engineering challenges to meet." This includes answers to strength, vibration, fluid dynamics, acoustics, condition monitoring, risk-based analysis and measurements issues.

With its global vibration analysis GL can calculate the natural frequencies and vibration mode shapes of hull, superstructure and deck panels are calculated using a finite element model. The propeller and main engine vibration excitation forces are also calculated. Vibration levels are predicted in the ~1 to 20 cps frequency range, and the effects of alterations to the propulsion plant and structure are investigated. Shipowners and yards benefit from minimizing the risk of exceeding contractual vibration limits and a rational assessment of the cost-benefit ratio of structural alterations or modification of the propulsion plant. Permanent product improvements are generated through continuous comparisons between predictions and measurements for a ship series.

Germanischer Lloyd press release