(www.MaritimeCyprus.com) Energy efficiency has always been a competitive advantage in a market where fuel represents a major operating expense. With the emergence of maritime decarbonisation ambitions, it has become an imperative.
Optimising the fuel efficiency of ships will prolong compliance as new legislation demands stepped improvements in emissions, fuel consumption and energy intensity, minimise carbon costs as market-based measures emerge and – for vessel operators aiming for close to or full decarbonisation – significantly reduce spend on costly zero- or near-zero
emission fuels.
A range of energy efficiency technologies (EETs) are now being deployed by operators to stack incremental savings in engine power, propulsion and hull resistance. But the slow
uptake of many such technologies speaks to the challenges in adopting them. EETs are at various stages of technology readiness and, as a result, many operators, designers and shipbuilders are not familiar with using or installing them.
What limited service experience there is shows widely varying performance, often at odds with optimistic claims made before installation. With no standardised method of verifying savings for some technologies, clarity on the true impact on operating costs can be elusive.
So too does full understanding of the operational constraints entailed, with some solutions
potentially affecting factors including vessel speed, cargo capacity and port access.
Introducing such measures as part of a newbuilding project, with a holistic consideration of energy use and operational implications from the initial design stage, is challenging enough. Adapting and attaching them to existing ships can be even more so, given the differing installation requirements and the added complexity of calculating potential efficiency gains and return on investment for mid-life vessels.
The new LR Energy Efficiency Retrofit Report series aims to support industry uptake of EET's on existing ships. This report, focused on wind assisted propulsion systems (WAPS),
examines current deployment and readiness of the main technology candidates, as well as highlighting drivers and potential challenges to future uptake – including supply and
installation capacity, safety and regulatory frameworks and operational considerations.
This publication follows the release of the initial Engine Retrofit Report last year, outlining the market and technology status of engine conversions for alternative zero- or near-zero
emission fuels. Combined with the Fuel for Thought series exploring new fuels, and future instalments of this report focused on other EET categories, the suite of documents from LR represents a comprehensive insight into the challenges of adapting existing vessels for operation in the era of decarbonisation.
For more details, you can download the whitepaper: "ENERGY EFFICIENCY RETROFIT REPORT 2024: Applying Wind-Assisted Propulsion to ships", below:
Source: LR
