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Silverstream Technologies, producer of a new friction-reducing air lubrication system for the shipping industry, says the cruise sector is showing substantial appetite for its clean technology. This, the company says, has been driven by a commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR), as well as impending changes to MARPOL Annex VI regulations where increases in the operational efficiency of vessels will be critical to reducing fuel burn and associated costs.

Silverstream already has a contract with Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) and says it is in advanced discussions with a number of other cruise operators who are looking to implement the company's new air lubrication technology, the Silverstream System.

In a statement, Noah Silberschmidt, Silverstream CEO, said: "Cruise operators want cost effective solutions that are easy to retrofit, simple to operate, deliver the efficiency benefits that are claimed, and do not take up a significant amount of space, which impacts revenue generation. The Silverstream System meets all these criteria while, demonstrating a clear return on investment. For this reason, we are seeing increased uptake from the cruise sector.

"Many cruise lines have already seen a rise in fuel costs due to the significant amount of time that they operate within the 0.1 percent ECA zones. These costs will only increase further when the global 0.5 percent limit for sulphur in fuel comes into force in 2020, which is the anticipated date of implementation for the regulation.

"In conjunction with the growing commitment to sustainability, given the consumer-facing nature of the sector, we are seeing considerable interest from cruise operators who want to offer assurances to their customers that they are proactively looking to minimise the environmental impact of their operations. They are doing this by getting ahead of regulations and implementing proven clean technologies that increase efficiencies and reduce fuel consumption and associated emissions."

How the technology works

The technology works by producing a layer of small bubbles that reduce friction between the hull and the water, thereby reducing fuel consumption, cutting fuel costs and also helping ship owners meet strict emissions requirements.

According to Silverstream, the technology can be added to a newbuild design, or quickly retrofitted to an existing ship within just 14 days, as was the case for the 40,000-deadweight-tonne (dwt) product tanker MT Amalienborg, which has been used during sea trials in collaboration with Shell.

Data gathered from the sea trials conducted with Shell and ongoing testing over the past 24 months is said to show that the Silverstream System can deliver average net efficiency gains of 5 percent for tankers and 8 percent for larger, full-bodied vessels.

The technology is the only air lubrication technology available which can be installed to both newbuilds and retrofits. Significantly, the Silverstream System is said to use 66 percent less energy than other air lubrication systems to power the compressors which keep cavities filled with air at the required pressure. Additionally, comparative air lubrication systems for cruise vessels use a greater number of larger compressors and air pipes, requiring significantly more space within a vessel's hull, Silverstream says, pointing out that this increases the complexity of engineering, and greatly extends the time required to implement other technologies.

"The simplicity of retrofitting the Silverstream System means less downtime for vessels, and also reduces the cost of the technology by as much as 30 percent, compared to competitor products," the company added.