State-of-the-Art Methods to Improve Energy Efficiency of Ships

Abstract

Generating energy efficiency through behavioural change requires not only understanding and empathy with user interests and needs but also the fostering of energy saving awareness, a technique and framework that supports operators and ship owners. There is strong potential to make use of different technical solutions to increase energy efficiency, but many cost-efficient solutions relate to carrot-and-stick incentives for operators to minimise energy consumption. These incentives range from voyage planning with weather routing eco-driving bonus, to torque limitations and changes in company policies, all of which demonstrate that the operators’ on-board importance for the energy consumption has been identified. Data collection will allow operators to make better decisions in the lifecycle of the ship from knowledge-driven design to operation, redesign and lifetime extension. Various systems are available for data acquisition, storage and analysis, some of which are delivered by well-known marine suppliers while others are stand-alone systems. The lack of standardization for data capture, transmission and analysis is a challenge, so systematic improvement is required in shipping companies to achieve energy savings. When these are achieved, they will be the result of customer requirements, cost pressure or individual driving forces in the companies. The potential energy savings, brought up in interviews, shows up to 35% on specific routes and up to 60% in specific maneuvers. These savings will be made feasible by operators and crews being involved in the decision-making process.