Propulsion Dynamics Marks CASPER’s Milestone

As the New Year deadline looms, Propulsion Dynamics has seen a 20% increase in ship numbers in its proven performance tool. Hull and propeller performance monitoring service CASPER has reached a milestone with the completion of its 5,000th report. Propulsion Dynamics’ Computerized Analysis of Ship PERformance (CASPER) compares ship performance from hull and propeller fouling with a clean, smooth hull and propeller from sea trials.

This generates accurate figures for speed and fuel consumption due to basic roughness and fouling.

“In CASPER, we treat each ship in our program entirely individually, allowing our customers to fully rely on our work in ship performance analysis as well as benchmarking and recommendations to enhance fleet-wide optimization,” said Christian Brobeck, Managing Director, Propulsion Dynamics.

With just two months until the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP) regulation becomes mandatory for all ships over 400 gross tons, demand for the CASPER Service continues to grow. In 2012 alone, active ships in the CASPER Service increased by 20%.

“CASPER is perfect fit for SEEMP. By creating a thorough implementation of measures, and continual improvements of technical fuel efficiency, the Return On Investment (ROI) is straightforward,” said Brobeck.

As shipowners and operators face rising fuel costs and increasingly stringent emissions regulations, the CASPER Service is proving to be an essential economic tool for all oil tankers, gas tankers, bulkers, containerships, and general cargo vessels, without the need for costly instrumentation.

“We have utilized CASPER since 2008 and we have based our hull cleaning and propeller polishing program on the information provided with the CASPER reports,” commentedRasmus Kjaer, General Technical Manager at Eitzen, one of the largest chemical transportation companies in the world. “The performance monitoring has provided the information required to achieve our goals for fuel saving.”

In addition, Eitzen has also successfully implemented the CASPER+Trim. “CASPER+Trim is very straightforward; it provides a very good overview of optimum trim. With this tool we will achieve our new goals for fuel saving,” commented Kjaer, adding, “The response from one of our captains after modifying the trim according to the new trim tool was that although the vessel was experiencing rough weather, the consumption reduced immediately and there was a positive response from the chief engineer that as soon as the recommended trim was achieved the load on the main engine decreased.”

This trim tool is based on the physical model of the vessel. It provides ideal trim for any speed, weather and loading, but does not require installation or calibration of sensors. To date, CASPER has obtained International Trademark (#1103971) in 15 countries where shipowners are now using the service on partial or entire fleets. To handle the increased demand for its services, by owners and charterers, Propulsion Dynamics has recently doubled its office space in Europe and hired two more naval architects to join its analysis team.

New analysis tools planned for CASPER will allow owners and charterers to collaborate together on hull performance dashboards in connection with charter party fuel consumption.

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Propulsion Dynamics, November 2, 2012