- Speed management and fuel consumption of a vessel are the primary reasons for wasting vessel energy.
- Lean Marine’s FuelOpt technology is a unique control system that is installed on-board and optimizes a vessel’s performance in real time.
- FuelOpt also acts as a dynamic tuning system for propulsion machinery, making sure it is tuned for the least possible fuel consumption.
- Bergen-based chemical tanker owner/operators have reaped fuel saving success from the FuelOpt system.
A technology called ‘FuelOpt’, developed by Lean Marine aims to eliminate energy waste.
RPM order of vessels
Overall management of vessel speed and fuel consumption are the primary reasons for wasting vessel energy.
Usually, a vessel is given a speed or RPM order which it maintains throughout any changing conditions along its route, with the result being varying power and wasted energy.
To achieve optimal fuel consumption, vessel’s output power and adjusting propulsive parameters is required throughout a voyage.
There is a lot of potential to save fuel by letting the two parameters, pitch and RPM, be separately controlled while aiming to produce the most amount of propeller thrust for the least required amount of power.
Operating in this way is also likely to improve the specific fuel consumption of the vessel’s main engine.
Automation of the running parameters
The running parameters are required to be kept keep constant to get the requested result. In simple terms, doing the monitoring, constant tweaking and adjusting manually is an arduous task. So all these are to be automated.
The development of hardware to automate the real time monitoring and control of propulsion parameters was a challenge adopted by a group of Swedish innovators with extensive experience in shipbuilding, naval architecture, propulsion and marine control system technology.
‘FuelOpt’ by Lean Marine
The result of research and proprietary work conducted by the group was a technology called ‘FuelOpt’, which was launched onto the market in 2012 by Gothenburg-based company Lean Marine.
Lean Marine’s FuelOpt technology is a unique control system that is installed as an addition to the existing traditional systems on-board. The technology optimizes a vessel’s performance in real time.
Whenever the vessel is in transit (and using most of its power for propulsion), FuelOpt will step in and take away costly variations in speed and power due to human operational factors and optimize propulsion parameters such as pitch and RPM for maximum efficiency.
The technology can be installed into any vessel during operation in just a few days and no time off-hire is required.
Lean Marine’s managing director Nicklas Karlsson said that FuelOpt offers owners the ability to have the cruise control system found in their cars, installed onboard their vessels.
Dynamic tuning system
In addition to offering sophisticated ship cruise control functionality, in the case of a controllable pitch vessel, FuelOpt also acts as a dynamic tuning system for propulsion machinery, all the time making sure it is tuned for the least possible fuel consumption.
Lean Marine’s unique product portfolio is actually based on two separate technologies.
Fleet Analytics
In addition to the FuelOpt technology, the company offers a data analysis tool called Fleet Analytics which allows for both verification of fuel use reduction results achieved by FuelOpt and to increase the ship owner’s knowledge of their vessel operations.
Fleet Analytics incorporates a large amount of sensor data from the vessel to give user a powerful overview of the vessels situation and performance via a clear web-based interface.
The system can also greatly reduce the workload for on-board personnel through offering powerful reporting functions.
Rapid implementation of FuelOpt Technology
While Lean Marine may have been flying under the radar since their incorporation some six years ago, uptake of their technology has been rapid.
Since 2012, Lean Marine has installed FuelOpt on nearly 100 vessels, with the milestone 100th installation due to take place during 2018.
The success to-date, Karlsson says, is due to the technology’s ability to deliver direct and tangible results of fuel savings.
Not only has the company welcomed new orders of their technology, returning customers demanding fleet-wide installations have been received with increasing frequency.
‘FuelOpt’ on Bergen-based chemical tanker
Bergen-based chemical tanker owner/operators Rederiet Stenersen, have reaped fuel saving success from the FuelOpt system which was installed on across their entire fleet comprising tankers already efficient by design.
Stenersen has 15 vessels running with FuelOpt and Fleet Analytics. As the fuel optimization system is used all of the time during vessel transit, FuelOpt now has clocked up almost 4,000 days in operation across the Stenersen fleet.
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Source: Lean Marine
