Ro-pax vessels achieve savings with FuelOpt propulsion automation

(GOTHENBURG, Sweden) — Ro-pax operators Color Line and Bohai Ferry have confirmed that fuel savings achieved through the use of Lean Marine’s FuelOpt propulsion automation system have exceeded expectations.

As one of the more public-facing sectors of the industry, pressure to reduce the environmental impact of passenger shipping is mounting from both increasingly environmentally conscious customers and international regulations to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from shipping.

In the past few years, Swedish marine propulsion experts Lean Marine have welcomed increased demand for FuelOpt from the ro-pax sector. Companies including Stena Line, Color Line, Bohai Ferry and Viking Line have invested in the technology due to the tangible fuel savings and CO2 emission reductions that the technology delivers.

By September 2020, FuelOpt had been contracted for over 25 ro-pax vessels.

FuelOpt achieves real-time fuel savings by controlling vessel propulsion and making sure that propulsive power is optimized automatically based on the set commands on power, speed, fuel consumption or a combination thereof. This removes costly variations in speed and power caused by human operational factors, allowing the vessel to achieve optimal fuel consumption at every given point throughout a voyage.

For vessels with controllable pitch propellers, FuelOpt acts as a dynamic tuning system for the propulsion machinery to assure that the engine and propeller operate at optimal conditions.

In addition to FuelOpt, Lean Marine also offers the smart performance management and reporting software Fleet Analytics that turns vessel data into knowledge, empowering organizations to be "lean" and take fact-based decisions for more efficient vessel operations. Through its automatic environmental and voyage reports, Fleet Analytics helps to reduce reporting workload onboard and ashore. Its performance management features, with aggregated fleet views and status information, allow onshore personnel to gain insight about the operational performance at vessel and fleet level.

Having a better understanding of a fleet’s performance enables ship owners and operators to learn from previous voyages and improve the next, hence reduce operating costs and emissions. The use of Fleet Analytics can unlock additional indirect fuel savings and emission reductions of up to 10 percent.

In 2020, FuelOpt was installed on the two largest ro-pax vessels in the world: Color Line’s Color Fantasy and Color Magic. Following full summer operations, Color Line had the lowest weekly consumption ever on Color Magic.

Further information can be found by visiting www.leanmarine.com.

By Professional Mariner Staff