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Achieving environmental efficiency

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Shipping is increasingly being faced with a raft of environmental legislation aimed at reducing its impact on the natural landscape. Probably the most significant are IMO’s sulphur cap and its regulations surrounding the management of ballast water. However, more recent discussions at IMO have focused on carbon emissions where the Agency has reached agreement that shipping’s CO2 output should be halved by 2050. This is a big deal for shipping.

Fuel reduction is the key
Meeting the sulphur cap means a ship must either burn low sulphur fuel or fit a scrubber to its exhaust system. Meeting the 2050 carbon reduction targets will also rely, in the main, on burning the right type of fuel. Whichever method a shipowner chooses to meet these new restrictions, it is fair to say that burning less fuel – of whatever type – will help. The preferred fuel of the future is yet to be decided but many commentators are already predicting disruption in the bunker market coupled with volatile prices. With this in mind, it is in the interests of owners to do what they can to reduce their bunker consumption.

Slow steaming, more efficient engines, better hull designs and heightened crew training are all factors that play a role in reducing bunker use. And selecting the best hull coating is also an important factor. A top-quality fouling-defence solution applied to the hull of a vessel has the potential to generate up to six percent in fuel savings. Hempel’s Hempaguard® is proven to achieve just that when compared with other best-in-class antifouling products. It even retains its effectiveness regardless of vessel speed and when the ship is idle for periods of up to 120 days.    

Getting shipSHAPE

Understanding the importance of fuel efficiency, Hempel - the global coatings manufacturer – is now offering a new service to shipowners based on the ISO 19030 standard. Systems for Hull and Propeller Efficiency – or SHAPE – was launched earlier this year and aims to help owners make informed decisions to maximise both the hull efficiency of their vessels and, in turn, their return on investment.

ISO 19030 defines the methodology for determining changes in hull and propeller performance and details industry standard measures for propeller efficiency. SHAPE uses ISO 19030 to deliver high-quality performance data analysis that allows the expert teams at Hempel to offer advice to shipowners on how to optimise performance.

The SHAPE process monitors long-term changes in a vessel’s hull performance that results from a number of factors but chiefly from mechanical/physical damage and fouling.

This is achieved using a multi-step process.

First, speed power reference curves are established for the individual vessel. Next, in-service data is collected, cleansed and purified to eliminate extreme operating conditions as well as the effects of environmental factors. From this, precise speed loss calculations are undertaken – this is critical to understand vessel performance and fuel efficiency (power increase and speed loss are directly related). This then allows four KPIs to be determined, which are:

-        Dry docking performance – calculates the changes in hull and propeller performance over drydocking periods.

-        In service performance – calculates the effectiveness of the vessel’s hull and propeller solutions.

-        Maintenance trigger – calculates the change in hull and propeller performance over a given period between drydocking and in-service use.

-        Maintenance effect – calculates the change in hull and propeller performance before and after a maintenance event.

The combination of these steps equips Hempel’s experts with the data required to provide robust advice to the shipowner on how they might improve their fuel efficiency. This transparent and empirical process allows shipowners to make data-driven decisions themselves. The right decision, coupled with the right choice of Hempel’s hull coatings, will enable their ships to operate more efficiently and competitively. And, as importantly, it will also help them comply with current and incoming environmental demands.

SHAPE at a glance:

-        A tailored hull performance programme with a dedicated Hempel performance analyst

-        Expert data interpretation and advice from Hempel’s team of chemists, physicists and hydrodynamicists

-        Key performance indicators based on speed loss measurements to track performance gains over time

-        Monitored and guaranteed speed loss – directly related to fuel savings – applicable for hull coatings specified for up to 60 months dry docking intervals

-        Transparent cost-effective performance monitoring following the ISO 19030 methodology

http://www.shape.hempel.com