Image: Royston Diesel Power

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Diesel power specialist Royston has developed a special 'Ecospeed' analysis capability as part of its Enginei electronic fuel management system (EFMS) to enable ship operators to identify and maintain optimum vessel speeds for efficient fuel usage.

Devised with marine engineering specialists from Newcastle University, the new Ecospeed algorithm is based on speed modelling and an analysis of vessel operating data, correlating and synchronising information from different sensors installed on the vessel.

Ecospeed calculates an optimum performance profile for individual vessels by taking into account a range of shipping data including fuel use, speed and distance, as well as sea state, wind speed and current.

This information is gathered during a dedicated sea trial or from a vessel's existing Enginei system installation and is used to identify optimum vessel speeds in different conditions to ensure that maximum fuel efficiencies are maintained.

As well as fuel consumption, the Ecospeed module also provides details of carbon emissions and voyage duration to help crews to make informed decisions on vessel speed and environmental performance for all journeys.

Common shipping practice for economic operation is to run vessels based on a crew's experience, but Royston points out that the results can vary widely, and that in terms of fuel economy for a specific voyage, this may not necessarily result in the use of the most fuel-efficient speed for the vessel.

Ecospeed is said to be compatible with all types of vessel, enabling potential fuel use and emissions to be effectively managed according to conditions, the duration of the trip and required arrival times.

Damian McCann, product manager for Enginei fuel management systems at Royston, said: "Our onboard tests and pilot Ecospeed installations have shown that systematically identified economic speeds are invariably different to crew perceptions based on their experience and can have a significant impact on fuel use and costs.

"In addition, linking fuel use with CO2 emissions using the carbon emissions factor for the appropriate fuel type also provides the means to ensure that potential environmental impacts are minimised.

"As a result, the new Ecospeed EFMS feature provides an essential means of helping vessel operators to accurately identify optimum voyage speeds in the interests of both maintaining fuel efficiencies and complying with emissions regulations."

The Enginei EFMS system records fuel consumption data by individual engines which is presented via touchscreen monitors installed on the bridge and in engine control rooms.

In addition, the system remotely sends the information from ship to shore, where it can be accessed through a simple web dashboard with computer-generated graphs and Google mapping to show an operational profile of a vessel.