The latest Energy Management Study issued by DNV-GL has shown that shipping companies are still not utilising all the tools at their disposal to achieve reduced energy consumption.
Many shipping companies have realised first savings, but only a few have succeeded in realising savings above 10%.
The achieved 1-3% in fuel savings in the majority of shipping companies reflect their only moderate success in lowering their consumption in the first year after implementing the Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP).
With industry leaders claiming 10% or more in fuel savings, significant saving potential remains untouched, according to the study.
For those who have not yet invested in efficient ship designs and/or efficient operations, it will become essential to increase efforts to reduce fuel consumption in a market with newbuilds operating at a fuel consumption which is 20-30% lower.
The industry has focused on implementing well-known practices that require only little investment such as slow steaming / eco speed, optimised voyage planning and weather routing.
More challenging measures such as virtual arrival, which requires stronger involvement from the shipping companies to coordinate its use across the different stakeholders, have only been selected by some.
Shipping companies aiming for greater energy efficiency also need to invest in efficient and smart performance management solutions to obtain transparency throughout their operations, and to be able to proactively improve ship performance immediately.
[mappress] World Maritime News Staff; July 10th, 2014