Ship Software Aids Optimal Speed Choice

Eniram claims new software will radically change management of speed, engine use, and fuel consumption

Eniram’s new product, Optimum Speed Assistant (OSA), is an onboard decision support tool that enables a ship’s crew to attain the optimum speed profile for each voyage, allowing vessels to maintain a constant performance and arrive in port at the right time.

The software, which builds on Eniram’s existing Dynamic Trimming Assistant, is the only solution in the industry to combine real-time information about prevailing sea conditions with historical data, allowing operators to sail constantly at the optimum speed profile. This reduces the need for a crew to build in ‘buffer’ time and vary engine speed to ensure on-time arrival in port, a practice which is not fuel efficient. Calculations are served up to the crew via an easy-to-use dashboard and color-coded ‘traffic light’ system. This coordinates all of the information in one place, in a form that can be readily interpreted without the need for any manual input.

Eniram developed and tested OSA in close cooperation with its cruise customers. It draws on data collected from 100 vessels; 200 billion signals were collected and analyzed from over 60,000 sea days. This demonstrated the potential for a 2 per cent saving by adjusting speed alone; by adding propulsion and trim adjustments, operators can expect to achieve annual fuel-related savings of 3 per cent.

“Optimum Speed Assistant shows quick gains in efficiency,” says Eniram CTO Henrik Dahl. “For a typical vessel such as a cruise liner, payback time is significantly less than a year. We see that our Optimum Speed Assistant together with Dynamic Trim Assistant will be key elements of any vessel’s energy efficiency plan (SEEMP). These tools coupled with Eniram Performance Management will guide customers to achieve best performance and reporting of emissions and follow up of EEOI,” he added.