The container ship ontainer ship ontainer ship - its ... - DNV Germany

The The container ontainer ship - its chances and challenges
A A A revolution revolution revolution of of of global global global transportation
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PART ART THREE THREE: THREE
Ships Ships in in Operation
Operation
by by Frank Frank Hensel, Hensel, Hensel, DNV DNV Germany
Germany
Introduction
Introduction:
Introduction
Owners, managers and operators of the worldwide container ship fleet are
today facing a number of significant challenges. The oversupply of tonnage
in almost all segments, low freight and charter rates and, not least, high
fuel oil prices have put the shipping market under a lot of pressure.
As a consequence, these aspects are causing all those in the industry to
have a high cost awareness regarding the entire scope of service levels.
The lines are reorganising their service frequencies to suit market
requirements. Charter periods are quite short and rates are down to opex
or even below. Operators have higher demands and owners are
endeavouring to keep their vessels in service.
Fuel efficiency is of course at the top of the agenda and a vessel’s speed
and consumption ratio are one of the main topics when a ship is being
considered for a new charter.
Owners are putting a lot of effort into this area in order to comprehensively
document their vessels’ performance.
In addition to administrative requirements that are forcing investments to
meet the new emissions limitations, tighter rules for the treatment of ballast
water will also have to be complied with in the near future.
Further administrative requirements are in the pipeline. The onboard ship
efficiency management plan will be compulsory very soon and more and
more flag states are ratifying the MLC2006.

Keeping operational costs under control
- Fuel cost
In a prevailing market with very low freight rates, both liner operators and
charter owners are showing special awareness of cost reductions and/or
control. Ship operators are suffering from low charter rates and
unemployed tonnage, while fuel saving measures are number one on the
agenda for all of them. As the fuel oil price has again reached 750 USD/t
and is continuing to rise, these measures are essential to keep a vessel in
service. During the last crisis, slow steaming had already successfully
been introduced and proved that fuel and thus expenses could be saved
and tonnage could be kept in service. However, fuel efficiency can be
further improved.
The »DNV Fuel Saving Guideline - For Container Ships«, published in
2011 and issued together with HSVA, provides impartial expert advice on
available technology and the cost effectiveness of fuel-saving measures
which are relevant for container ships. Besides many design features to be
considered, especially for newbuildings, the guideline also provides an
overview of operational measures to save fuel.
For a lot of measures the initial ship design is of course crucial. However,
there is also a big potential on the operational side. Thus both the fuel
efficiency of ship operations and the fleet management should be
evaluated. If the fleet management side in shipping companies has already
been successfully optimised during the past decade, the main potential in
the running fleet lies in most cases in fuel saving operations.
Key topics here are:
- Main energy consumers - tuning and efficiency
- Speed optimisation and voyage planning
- Trim and draft optimisation
- Bunkering strategy and procedures and fuel quality monitoring
- Ship performance and operational procedures
Especially performance monitoring and trim/draft optimisation should be
subject to a more in-depth evaluation as innovative tools are available and
the investments are comparatively reasonable even in hard times.
Vessel Performance Monitoring & Benchmarking
- Voyage execution and the related possible savings are often
underrated
In order to assess the present performance status, measures must be
applied that enable the operator to act and possibly change certain
parameters. This includes proper data collection on board and regular
performance reports (e.g. daily at noontime) to be sent to owners, which
should have centralised data storage for their entire fleet. Easy, uniform
and reliable data transfer from ship to shore is therefore necessary.

The shore staff must follow this up closely and give case-by-case feedback
to the ship’s command. Data processing has to provide the ability to
compare and benchmark the whole fleet. This initiates a certain
competition amongst vessels. Efficient KPIs and an efficient reporting
scheme also mean the management can be told to act affirmatively.
DNV supports the setting-up of reporting and benchmarking software or
the enhancement of the functionality of existing reporting software. This
enables a shared workload and commitment to success. As a direct followup
of the vessel’s performance (noon reports or special performance
reports), off-spec performance can be intuitively reported (traffic light). The
necessary calculations are based on state-of-the-art numerical methods
and will be tailored to available data. The documentation helps to avoid
costly discussions about speed/consumption claims.
Asset Asset Asset Management
Management
Management
- Maximum possible time in service
During times when charter rates are under pressure, it is essential to keep
the vessel in service for as many days as possible. Today, some owners
already go for an extended dry docking interval of 7.5 years. In order to
benefit from this and permanently monitor the vessels’ condition, company
maintenance systems have been installed. An operational hull planned
maintenance system improves the asset management and provides more
predictable maintenance costs. Close cooperation with the classification
society makes the situation even more beneficial. Frequent inspections
mean that potential problems may be discovered at an early stage. The
inspections can be carried out when time allows and compartments are
available. Trained seagoing officers with well-established programmes and
visual inspection manuals can conduct the inspections during long sea
passages. A working record-keeping system containing photographs and
acceptance criteria is a necessary feature. Good record-keeping and
documentation on board empowers the personnel to take responsibility.
The management office keeps the cross-fleet overview, revealing fleet
trends and sister ship experience.
Hull PMS
- A modern survey scheme
The DNV Hull PMS (planned maintenance system) puts the surveyor in a
position to evaluate the results of inspections carried out by ship crew
and/or shore personnel and reported in the PMS. Such inspections can be
waived provided the attending surveyor is satisfied that the condition
complies with the Rules.
- Areas of Attention

Inspectors need to know what they are looking for. DNV has experience of
ships built to all class standards through class transfers of ships built to
other class societies’ standards. Typical defects and critical areas are
identified and updated and included in an inspection manual, thus
providing guidance to inspectors. Side shell fatigue can be an issue on
older container ships. Fatigue cracks develop over time, depending on the
design details and ship operations. The expected fatigue life can be
calculated and provide guidance on inspection frequency.
The timely discovery of fatigue cracks will reduce the risk of more
comprehensive repairs and unscheduled off hire. The cracks can be
repaired by fitting brackets according to calculated design modifications. A
ship with side shell fatigue crack problems was transferred to DNV class
about 4½ years after delivery, before its first class renewal survey. The
problem was minimised as the class society and manager had cooperated
on a hull PMS system, with class being involved at once in providing a
solution. Two well known container ship managers have operated hull PMS
pilot schemes in cooperation with DNV for more than five years now. The
new survey arrangement is based on and incorporates this experience.
Fully fledged IT-based reporting and maintenance tools are available from
DNV but are not a prerequisite for the Hull PMS survey arrangement. A
simplified spreadsheet reporting tool is available and is being successfully
used by managers. This may serve as a starting point for companies that
are new to hull planned maintenance systems or have their own systems
in place already.
The first pilot projects with German customers will start soon.
Admi Adminis Admi Admi is istrative is trative requirements requirements and and changes
changes
The following administrative requirements/changes are the most important
for the container ship fleet in operation:
- IMO/ ECA
- Ballast water
- MLC2006
- SEEMP
Upcoming regulative changes related to emissions to air have been
discussed earlier and the shipping companies are well aware of these, so
we do not deem it necessary to discuss them in more detail here.
A very important change and real challenge are envisaged when the
Ballast Water Convention comes into force. This will be 12 months after it
is ratified by more than 30 states representing 35% of the world fleet. As
more than 30 states have already ratified it, the shipping world is now
(status: March 2012) 8.56% of the world fleet away from the entry into
force of the convention. This could take place very quickly, as Panama
alone could bring in the missing capacity.
The big challenge will be to retrofit all the vessels between 2015 and 2020.
The availability of systems, detailed technical features including type

approvals, etc, and last but not least the investment volumes have to be
clarified soon if ships are to be ready.
MLC2006 has been ratified by more 22 countries with more than 55% of
the world tonnage. Eight countries are still missing and the convention will
enter into force for all ships above 500gt from »MLC countries« or trading
in »MLC ports«. This is also expected to happen soon and the shipping
industry has to be well prepared for this too.
SEEMP - Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan
- Another regulation soon to be mandatory:
The most relevant requirement is the introduction of the SEEMP.
The SEEMP was adopted at the MEPC 62nd session in July 2011, under
mounting pressure from the industry and authorities, and will become
mandatory for all vessels at their first renewal or intermediary survey after
1 January 2013.
SEEMP - what exactly is it?
IMO - MEPC.1/683 Guidance for the Development of a SEEMP recognises
that operational efficiencies will make an invaluable contribution to
reducing global carbon emissions. The SEEMP’s main purpose is to
establish a mechanism for a company and/or ship to improve the energy
efficiency of the ship’s operation that is preferably linked to a broader
corporate energy management policy. The SEEMP is to be customised to
suit the characteristics and needs of individual companies and ships. The
IMO guideline itself can be found at the IMO website www.imo.org.
Please note that this will be updated over the coming 12 months or more,
and whilst it is not expected to change too much, it will be modified. Always
check the IMO website for the latest version.
Going beyond compliance
The IMO Guidance for the development of a SEEMP for ship owners and
operators is acknowledged and fully supported. The key difference in the
outcome will be in its implementation. Developed SEEMPs are available
for customers around the world with a systematic, structured and cost
effective approach to each project. And as the overriding goal of having a
SEEMP is to use less fuel (relatively speaking), the outcome of a
successfully deployed SEEMP is reduced maintenance costs, lower
running hours and fewer emissions. »To realise the benefits, you must first
have a plan«. The DNV approach remains fully compliant with the IMO
guidance and builds on it further by placing emphasis on the delivery and
implementation of the plan. By drawing on insight into leading practices in
a range of shipping segments, class brings applied and practical
intelligence to the SEEMP development process in order to ensure the
ship owner or operator has the best possible chance of not only achieving
compliance but also reaping the benefits of lower consumption and costs.

Four steps to success
Step 1
– Establish a baseline
It is important to examine data, tools and processes in
order to determine a credible baseline from which goals,
plans and actions all grow.
Step 2
– Identify improvement potential
Identify how much you can save and, just as importantly,
what initiatives you need to undertake to realise the
improvements.
Step 3
– Implement and monitor
Put the plan into action and track performance using a
variety of established systems/processes to help
overcome resistance to ‘new’ initiatives.
Step 4
– Evaluate and update
The progress of the different improvement initiatives
should be regularly followed up by the responsible
persons/department, and the
performance assessment should be used to modify future goals and
implementation tactics.
Summary Summary: Summary
Ship operators and managers must reduce and control their operational
costs. Comprehensive tools are available for this purpose or can be
developed individually. In future, competitiveness will be defined by fuel
consumption and its dependable recording.
PMS systems help to ensure dependable ship operations and allow
improved planning in order to avoid expensive and inefficient off-hire.
In order to cope with expected new regulations in future, ship operators
must closely cooperate with the supply industry as well as with
classification societies.
With its long experience and expertise, reliable tools and individually
adapted consultancy services, DNV is well prepared to assist the maritime
industry.