The Cost to Quality Ratio in Terms of Voyage Energy Efficiency

Abstract

Shipping is permanently engaged in efforts to regulate the voyage energy efficiency and to control the marine GHG emissions. In order to achieve this, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has developed a series of technical and operational measures. The Energy Efficiency Operational Index is one of the operational measures that can be used as a monitoring tool for the voyage optimization and represents the mass of CO2 emitted per unit of transport work. The purpose of this study is to analyze the competitiveness of using different types of marine fuels during the voyage and also to emphasize their influence over the Energy Efficiency Operational Index. The emissions from ships are directly proportional to the bunker consumption and with its quality, and this paper presents the Energy Efficiency Operational Index value for one complete voyage, varying the type of fuel for different legs for the main consumers: main engine, diesel generators, boiler and inert gas generator. The results consist in the cost to quality ratio, where the cost is the sum of money spent for different types of fuel and the quality is the ships Energy Efficiency Operational Index. The cost-to-quality ratio is presented in graphs in order to allow the ship-owner to choose the solution of protecting the marine environment, acting over the EEOI, based on the cost involved.