UK project to help owners assess ship technologies

The Vessel Technology Assessment System (VTAS) project BMT, to be built by consultancies BMT and Black & Veatch, is intended to inform stakeholders who can drive commercial shipping to reduce fuel consumption. The project will focus on addressing perceived barriers to the adoption of energy saving devices (ESDs), providing data-driven technical models of individual ships and dovetailing this with financial modelling to accurately capture capex and operational issues.

John Buckingham, chief mechanical engineer, BMT said: “There is a choice of ESDs within the commercial shipping market and yet the uptake to date has been somewhat slow, due to the perceived technical and financial risks. This project will allow us to explore the options and provide independent evidence that stakeholders can trust to make an informed decision.”

David Butler, project manager for HDV marine efficiency, ETI, added: “We hope that this project will help to tackle the market barriers that limit the uptake of cost-effective fuel efficiency technologies. Combining this project with our current £10m portfolio of demonstrations in the areas of Flettner rotor sails, high efficiency propulsion systems and new waste heat recovery technology, will help us reach our target of a 30% improvement in fuel efficiency for marine vessels.”

Companies interested in this project can register for regular updates here.