How Maersk’s Maritime Software Tool “Eco Voyage” Can Help in Reducing Ship’s Fuel Consumption?

Efficient communication is the key to the success of a team and when it comes to shipping, no goals can be achieved without team work. Passage and voyage planning is one of the most important things for ship’s operation, and when this planning is done by an experienced captain, it can save a lot on fuel costs for the company. When these two factors–Voyage planning and Communication is handled carefully under the guidance of a renowned shipping operator, what results is an innovative cost saving tool “Eco Voyage”.

Eco voyage is a cost saving maritime software tool developed by Maersk Maritime Technology, along with inputs from several Maersk line Ships’ captains.

What are the main features of Eco Voyage?

As the name suggests, the main aim of Eco Voyage is to reduce the fuel costs of the ship and to make a voyage plan, under which, the ship reaches the destined post with minimum consumption of fuel. To do such planning following factors are considered:

• Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA)

• Weather of the plying route

• Expected currents of the ocean

• The draught of the ship

• Waves and wind to be encountered by the ship

• The efficiency of the propulsion plant

• The economical speed of the ship

How Eco Voyage Works?

When a ship’s captain takes the ship from one port to another, experiencing any of the factors explained above, he will try to plan the ship voyage in such a way so as to reach the destined port with minimum usage of fuel and before the ETA.

All the plans and actions are recorded & stored in a central server system. Then the entire voyage planning data is distributed to other ships of the same or different fleet.

Hence in a central server system, several alternatives are available to plan a ship voyage from one port to other with reduced fuel consumption and hence reduced operating cost.

The Eco Voyage is very well integrated maritime software with other efficiency programs like EEDI etc. which ensures that precise fuel saving data and voyage planning is available as per the situation.

Advantages of Eco Voyage

• It allows the master to choose from different voyage plans so that he can make the ship reach the destined port well before the ETA

• It reduces the fuel burning in the main engine

• As fuel is the prime factor in the operating cost of the ship, the operation cost goes down

• Less fuel consumption means less exhaust emission and hence pollution reduces

• New Routes are available which helps in learning from each other’s performances

• The entire fleet’s fuel saving increases hence more profit for the company

• Better arrangement of shore resources as ETA can be achieved as per the schedule

Maersk’s “Eco Voyage”  is a maritime software tool, which if used efficiently, can help in solving several problems faced by the shipping world.

Reference: maersktechnology