MACSEA low cost hull monitoring

According to the company, hull fouling causes added drag, resulting in speed loss if constant power is maintained, or an increase in power and fuel consumption to make up for the speed loss. Kevin Logan, president, Macsea, told The Motorship that the fuel penalties can be substantial, depending on the hull maintenance practices of the shipowner.

“A recent Navy study we performed showed a fuel penalty of over 30% due to hull fouling. At a time when shipowners are striving to become more efficient in any way possible and be ‘green’ at the same time, I would say ship hull monitoring is very important. The models that we employ are based on sound principles of naval architecture,” he said.

Macsea’s service uses an automated, cloud based data analytics process to monitor vessel performance over time.

The company says hull monitoring also helps to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Additional benefits include measuring efficiency gains from other related energy conservation measures, such as alternate propeller designs and hull coating choices.

Mr Logan explained that there has been a tendency in the industry to keep analysis techniques a secret, which has no doubt created a certain level of mistrust.

“We have spent over two decades quantifying the effects of hull condition on ship performance and have published our methodology to keep our servicer costs low,” he added.