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 This month our focus is on slow steaming and its implications. It is clear that significant amounts of fuel and greenhouse gases can be saved by slow steaming. As a good steward of the environment and our customers’ resources, we support our customers’ decisions to slow steam and are pleased to see the trend increasing. Slow steaming, however, does prolong a ship’s exposure to bad weather. |
| George Schlinkert, AWT’s Vice President of Operations, discusses in a Q&A format the need for expertise in route planning for slow steaming ships to ensure safety and to save the maximum amount of fuel and greenhouse gases. |
| Feel free to email us your comments and stories. We welcome your feedback, |
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Skip Vaccarello |
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| Slow Steaming and Optimal Routing: Question and Answer Interview with George Schlinkert, Vice President of Operations at AWT |
| Q: A recent study suggests the shipping industry could cut carbon emissions by up to 33 percent by slow steaming. How does AWT help its customers to slow steam? |
 A: At AWT, we encourage our customers to slow steam as often as is safely possible. Many factors for each voyage are considered, such as the track sailed, weather, draft, trim and even different hull coatings on different ships. Given these considerations, we suggest the optimal route to help ensure safety and fuel efficiency. Slow steaming, when combined with the optimal route, provides the best possible scenario to reduce fuel consumption, curb carbon emissions and ensure safety. |
| Without the optimal route, slow-steaming ships may be exposed to unsafe conditions. In stormy weather conditions, slow steaming can prolong a ship’s exposure to heavy seas. Slow steaming may also have unforeseen effects on ships in relation to storms. For example, slow steaming may allow for a storm to move away from a ship before she encounters it; however, it may have the opposite effect and reduce the ship’s ability to avoid the stormy weather. Combining the optimal route with slow steaming helps to ensure safe and fuel-efficient sailing. |
| Q: Is AWT seeing an increase in customers who are slow steaming? |
| A: Slow steaming has been a steady practice for quite some time now. What we are seeing are questions with regards to how to best implement it, and whether all ships within a fleet are sailing equally efficiently. AWT is assisting our clients in determining answers to this complicated question which has many factors affecting each voyage, including track sailed, weather, draft, trim, and different hull coatings on different ships. |
| Q: Currently how do AWT’s voyage optimization experts meet the needs of customers who are interested in slow steaming? How does slow steaming differ from the practice of constant RPMs? |
| A: Regardless of ship speed, the proper route can save five to ten percent of fuel for trans-oceanic voyages. When advised that slow steaming is required, AWT can obtain the required speed or ETA from the Captain or ship operator. Advice can be given to the ship Captain or operator regarding the required speed setting to achieve the required arrival. |
| This, of course, differs from a constant RPM setting which forces a ship to supply extra horsepower when encountering heavy weather. To maintain the RPM at a time when the ship is least efficient with the highest slip will result in burning additional fuel. |
| A ship Captain has two options for reducing ship motions in heavy weather. Change the course or change the speed. By maintaining a constant RPM, one of those two options is removed and the Captain is left with only one option; adjust the course which would add additional mileage, lengthen the voyage and burn excessive fuel. |
| read more > |
| Case Study: When Increasing Speeds is the Best Approach for Ensuring Safety, Minimizing Fuel Consumption and Carbon Emissions |
| by AWT Staff |
| In the image below taken from August 2009, Hurricane Bill can be seen approaching southern and eastern Nova Scotia. |
 AWT was providing voyage optimization services for a container Ro/Ro vessel proceeding at reduced RPMs. She was due to arrive in Halifax just as Hurricane Bill was reaching the area. The vessel’s trans-oceanic voyage was a standard great circle (from Europe to Newfoundland). However, if the vessel maintained an economical speed, the ship would not be able to get in to port, conduct cargo operations, depart and round southern Nova Scotia before the storm had its full impact. |
| Consultation was conducted between AWT, our client and the ship master. Agreement was reached with the Captain, and the speed of the vessel was increased for a period to avoid the hurricane. |
| With the storm still packing 75 knot winds, any deviation would have been extensive with additional consumption of fuel. Even if omitting the Halifax call, 18 hours of sailing time would have been added in order to avoid storm force westerly winds and 10+ meter waves, with the extra consumption of at least 50 MT of fuel oil and the extra release of approximately 155 MT CO2 emissions. |
| In this case, the voyage optimization experts at AWT determined that slow steaming was not possible to ensure safety. In the process of following the optimal and safest route, the ship avoided excessive fuel consumption and minimized CO2 emissions. |
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| BonVoyage System |
| Marine voyage optimization system provides 24/7 on-board weather… |
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| BonVoyage System & Ship Routing |
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| Ship Routing – Earliest Arrival |
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| Ship Routing – Fuel Optimization |
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| AWT (www.awtworldwide.com) is the leading provider of fleet optimization services, ship routing services and onboard voyage management software to ship owners, operators and charterers seeking the safest and most efficient routes for their fleets. Unlike companies that provide weather services for multiple industries, or companies which only offer onboard weather software, AWT is staffed by world-renown experts in ship routing, meteorology, IT, maritime science and former mariners who are focused solely on the maritime industry. Using the most sophisticated technology available, AWT routes more ships per month than any other company. Its superior customer service and integrity have made AWT the most trusted fleet optimization provider in the maritime industry. Founded in 1996, AWT is privately held and headquartered in Sunnyvale, California with worldwide offices located in the UK, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Korea, Germany, New York, and New Jersey. More information is available at www.awtworldwide.com or by calling 1-408-731-8600. |
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