GreenSteam unveils optimisers to trim operating costs

GreenSteam has developed two products for managing ship trim and optimising fuel consumption. GreenSteam Optimizer is an onboard decision support tool, and GreenSteam Manager is an onshore monitoring and analysis unit. “Both of these target perhaps the biggest problem faced by the shipping industry today, namely very high fuel oil prices and thus the operating costs,” GreenSteam chief executive Daniel Jacobsen said.

GreenSteam Optimizer helps the captain find the best trim in any condition. “It is able to do this because it understands how the vessel responds to conditions and changes in trim,” he said. This understanding comes from a combination of modern statistics with very good data, measured on the actual full-scale vessel.

“This puts GreenSteam Optimizer far ahead in quality from traditional trim management products based on towing tank tests and ‘noon reporting’,” Mr Jacobsen said.

“In practical terms, this typically improves efficiency by 3-4 per cent, resulting in annual savings of anywhere from €100,000 to €1 million.”

The GreenSteam Manager provides onshore personnel with near-live data feeds from every ship, allowing them to track and compare performance for any vessel. The tool also generates automatic voyage reports with intelligent key performance indicators. For example, it isolates the effect of good or poor trim on vessel fuel costs, he said.

“It also provides a common language for discussing fuel efficiency between onboard crew and onshore managers.”

Ferry operator DFDS has tested different trim optimising products for an extended period. In 2014, it concluded that the GreenSteam approach was the best way to go and ordered GreenSteam Optimizers and Managers for all of its roro fleet. “Calculations by GreenSteam for this vessel show a potential improvement of fuel efficiency of roughly 4 per cent, corresponding to more than €300,000 in savings per year,” Mr Jacobsen added. MEC