US NAVY'S - Incat

Fuel Economy at SpeedFerries
© SpeedFerries
SpeedOne © Andrew Cooke
Weight and Trim:
Hopefully the days of rocketing oil prices
are behind us. A barrel of oil will still
set you back significantly more than it
would have done a few years ago and
will almost certainly continue to do so.
Fuel economy is now a hot topic when it
comes to making big budget savings for
any HSC operator.
Saving money on fuel costs can be
achieved by both the company and by
the crew of the vessel themselves. The
company can of course look at hedging
bunker prices or careful scheduling etc.
For the crew however, achieving the best
fuel efficiency is somewhat of an art.
On the vessel there are several ways to go
about achieving the best fuel efficiency.
In simplistic terms SpeedFerries crews
have taken steps to achieve savings in
the following manner:
A lighter boat normally means a faster boat for the same amount
of thrust and therefore less fuel per mile. Weight reduction can be
achieved by:
• Minimising bunkers carried. Decide on a minimum safe level
and bunker little and often, preferably at each port. SpeedOne
normally carries 22m³ on departure and bunkers at both Dover
and Boulogne.
• Minimise dry and wet stores to those actually required for the
voyage.
• Distribute the vehicles to achieve the best trim with a part load.
Distribute the heavier/lighter vehicles to best help trim on a full
load. In practise biasing the weight of vehicles carried to the
forward end of the SpeedOne is considered most beneficial,
particularly if operating on three engines.
• Keep your bilges dry and have good housekeeping routines for
all your spaces.
• Use the correct settings of the ride control to assist with achieving
optimum trim for the particular depth of water. Minimise the
use/settings of active ride control when the weather conditions
permit. On SpeedOne the optimum trim tab setting has been
found to be around 52% for a full load.
22 Incat THE Magazine Issue 36