The technology is far more accurate than traditional speed logs and GPS measurements because local ocean currents generate a difference between a ship’s speed over ground and speed through water. Furthermore, the MIROS system requires no submerged equipment which require regular maintenance and often fail to produce accurate data.
Andreas Brekke, MIROS chief executive, revealed that BW Offshore and Hoegh LNG are amongst the potential customers testing the new system which is likely to become a valuable aid to operational decision making on the timing of hull cleaning and propeller polishing, for example.
Since fuel costs are the largest ship operating expense and are the subject of many disagreements between ship operators and charterers, accurate measurements should be very helpful.
Brekke pointed out that precise speed-through-water data will become critical in providing a baseline from which initiatives to optimise fuel usage and hull performance can be assessed. This will become increasingly important, experts say, because the global shipping industry needs accurate data from which to measure ship efficiency gains and greenhouse gas emission reductions between now, 2030 and then 2050.
The MIROS business model is based on a lease arrangement and the system usually takes about two days to install and commission, less on ships already equipped with X-band radars. Brekke estimates that fuel savings generated by the system could start to accrue after just four days of operation.
Data from the system, which can be stored locally or on the MIROS cloud-based system, could also be shared between ship operators and charterers wishing to divide the benefits of fuel-saving measures.
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