Speed and Route Planning in Evolving Weather for Efficient Voyages

Abstract

Fuel-saving potential by optimizing speed as well as route has been studied in a wide variety of operating conditions on a trans-Pacific route. Analysis using different seasonal weather patterns and various ship speeds allows a more robust estimation of possible fuel savings. Up to 18% reduction in fuel consumption was observed on eastbound voyages and up to 13% savings could be obtained on westbound voyages. It was observed that higher energy savings can be obtained for longer voyage times. Because the share of added wave resistance in total resistance is higher for lower speeds and there is greater flexibility to speed up and slow down during the voyage. A detailed comparison between the hindcast and forecast of metocean data has been presented since actual fuel savings would depend on the accuracy of the weather forecast. For future work on operational optimization, it is suggested to use weather forecast data instead of hindcast for realistic estimation of fuel saving potential.