A new model for the calculation of the bunker fuel speed–consumption relation

Abstract

This paper investigates the relationship between bunker fuel consumption and the speed of container ships. Although there are different models existing in the literature and in the industry, they do not always seem to match the actual maritime conditions. The existing models work well in middle speed levels, but they fail at the low- and high-speed ends unless the parameters in the exponent of the function are changed. Besides the problem of missing a general formulation, the parameters seem to change with speed. Therefore, in this paper a new approach is introduced to illustrate the dependance between bunker fuel consumption and speed, and it is tested by formulating the exponent of the function variable. Stochastic criteria are used to compare the new generalized model with common models using real operating data.