Weather, including currents, waves, wind, and swell has been found to affect the performance of a vessel by between 50 and 80 per cent and cost thousands in additional fuel consumption. Routing a vessel based on current and predicted weather conditions is about improving the fuel efficiency, keeping to the sailing schedule, and remaining safe....
Shipowners and operators are becoming increasingly concerned about matching their choice of fuel in 2020 with the right lubricant, confirmed Luis Garcia, Shell’s technology manager – marine & power engine lubricants, to journalists during a press tour of the Shell Marine & Power Innovation Centre in Hamburg last week. He believes shipowners want more clarity...
Article by Johnny Kackur, Business Development Manager, Marine Solutions, Wärtsilä. Stringent environmental legislation is starting to hit the shipping industry. The International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Tier III regulations require ships to cut NOx emissions by 80% from the Tier I level within Emission Control Areas (ECAs) and follow a 0.5% cap on the sulphur content in fuel...
Ship managers and third-party owners are expected to play an increasingly important role in maritime infrastructure, says Frank Coles, President Transas Group, Wärtsilä Voyage Solutions. As the industry works towards a cleaner greener, and more transparent future, Coles believes that, from a technology perspective, ship managers and owners could be on the cusp of a...
Hybrid fuels will be the long-term solution to the 2020 global sulphur cap, but conventional marine gas oil (MGO) with a 0.5 per cent sulphur content is the sensible approach in the immediate post-2020 environment due to increasing issues with the quality of distillate fuels, maintains Ian Crutchley, account manager, Veritas Petroleum Services. “Personally, I’d...
Last month, Digital Ship held its Vessel Performance Optimisation forum in London. The forum discussed how different strategies and technologies could be applied to vessels to improve fuel efficiency and ship performance. While there are many solutions available to monitor and improve vessel efficiency, there is some hesitation from the industry when it comes to...
The rapid development and adoption of new technology by consumers will transform shipping assumptions. By Mikko Lepistö, senior vice president of digital solutions at ABB Marine & Ports Shipping takes its cue for the growth in seaborne traffic from global trends in GDP, but new factors are having a profound effect on the economics of...
As 2020 nears, the bunker scene is expected to experience significant change. Vessels will run on different fuel blends and crews will face additional pressures that come with operating even more technologically advanced equipment. All of this will incur further costs, but there is still uncertainty as to where these costs will lie, warns Tiejha...
The maritime industry is already gaining experience with the new fuels it will need to deliver a step change in emissions reduction, says Chris Chatterton, Chief Operating Officer, The Methanol Institute. The ambitious goals for carbon emission reductions set by the IMO have prompted a surge of activity in the investment, research and development needed to...
Fresh volatility in the oil markets and the approach of a new era in ship fuel use are combining to demand more accountable vessel efficiency modelling, says Janne Niittymäki, head of hydrodynamics, Foreship Fuel buyers have been watching oil price volatility closely over recent months, as a moderate recovery morphed into a three-year high...
The 2020 sulphur-in-fuel-oil cap is expected to drive demand for propeller redesign and retrofits as shipowners and operators seek to improve the match between the propeller and the ship’s main engine to maximise fuel efficiency, Dr Lars Greitsch, managing director & head of research & innovation, MMG Propeller told VPO Global in an interview A...
In 2017, there were 426 Port State Control (PSC) detentions reported, relating to 383 ships classed by ClassNK*. Ships detained by PSC were found to have deficiencies serious enough to jeopardise the ship’s seaworthiness, safety of the crew onboard, or presented a threat of harm to the environment. There were a total of 1,359 detainable...