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because the fuel is available in that country,
but this is not the situation in the rest of
the world.”
The same issues arise with biodiesel and
low-sulphur fuels. “These fuels have
availability and cost problems,” Eloranta says.
“Once regulations shift towards less
sulphur content in fuels, the availability will
improve, but today the 0.1% fuel is extremely
expensive, so one possibility is a scrubbing
system, which would clean sulphur exhaust
gases. But it requires a lot of investment to
install the equipment and for the volume of
energy they consume when in operation.”
Wide-scale approach
A true push for sustainability requires a
holistic approach and most ships have
adopted energy management programmes
including power management, automation,
energy-efficient LED lighting, timers and
motion detectors, and environmentally
friendly materials and practices.
“It’s important to fine-tune the energy
consumption of vessels in different situations
and find out what can be done to reduce
consumption,” says Eloranta. STX built Royal
Caribbean’s 225,000t Oasis of the Seas, which
boasts the latest energy-efficiency
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The xpTRAY concept positions all
passenger public areas in one space.
technology. When vessels reach such
proportions, economies of scale mean that
the ratio of fuel consumption per passenger is
reduced. While vessels of this size are hard to
beat with their 30% potential energy savings
compared with smaller vessels, the main
challenge today is how similar efficiencies
can be made in vessels that are half the size.
However, the Oasis has set a hard-to-beat
benchmark in energy efficiency for any future
vessel design. “The greatest potential for
energy savings is in the larger size of ship,
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but the downturn might force operators to
acquire smaller vessels, and in these cases,
the energy management plan is the best
option,” says Eloranta.
By building a new ship or making
adjustments to existing vessels, every
company can do something to reduce their
fuel consumption. When the downturn is over
and the economy improves, the industry will
no doubt focus on sustainability again, but
whether the driver is cost or sustainability, both
ideals are heading in the same direction. �