C type vessels save on fuel

With an extra, small diesel generator, C type vessels can save up to 25% on fuel consumption.

ESVAGT’s 16 C type vessels, which constitute the largest group of vessels in the fleet, has achieved good savings on fuel consumption by adding an extra diesel generator.

Based on experienced gained on the first ten C type vessels, the shipping company decided that new build number eleven would have an extra, small diesel generator that could optimise the vessel’s power system by distributing the total power more effectively, thereby reducing the fuel consumption per kWh.

“We have supplemented the five 455kW diesel generators, which are standard for the vessel class, with a sixth generator that is about half the size,” says Kristian Ole Jakobsen, Chief Operating Officer at ESVAGT:

“When the navigator knows how to make use of the possibilities the sixth diesel motor can give, he can reduce the fuel consumption by between 10 and 15 percent,” he says.

Learning to use it

To achieve the up to 25% saving, you need to know how to optimise the use of the extra generator. ESVAGT has therefore installed a fuel meter on the C type vessels that shows the actual fuel consumption. The navigator can then regulate the speed and better use the resources in the machines:

”Many would recognise the system from their cars where a green or red lamp indicates that it is time to change gear or to accelerate more slowly. In the same way, the fuel meter that we have installed on all vessels allows personnel to see that it really makes a difference if they open full throttle,” says Kristian Ole Jakobsen.

The fuel meter has actually started a competition amongst the crew:

“On the journeys back from the shipyard in Singapore, the day and night teams competed to see who used least fuel on their watch. It is a good way to remind ourselves that we should run the vessel as we do our own house. At home, we remember to turn off the lights and turn down the heating before we air the room. That mind set is a good one to have at work too,” says Kristian Ole Jakobsen.

Running lighting, water and some thrust from the sixth, smaller diesel generator makes good sense on standby vessels where the load is low, says Kristian Ole Jakobsen:

“Delivering the 200-250 kW needed from one of the “large” diesel generators requires a relatively high fuel consumption. By using the smaller, sixth diesel generator, we can save a good deal of fuel”, says Kristian Ole Jakobsen.