Ballast water, routinely taken on by ships for stability and structural integrity can contain thousands of mi- crobes, algae and animals. When discharging this ballast water holding these organisms in a non-native ecosystem, new invasive aquatic species can be introduced. This can have to devastating consequences for the local ecosystem. To prevent further disruption of different ecosystems across the globe, the Ballast Water Management Convention (BWM) was adopted by the IMO in 2004. NIBC has a wide portfolio of vessels which will have to comply with the IMO BWM convention. However, the possible solutions and the actual impact of this regulation is still unknown to the bank. Ship owners expect a significant impact on the shipping industry and it is suggested that a lot of vessels will have to be scrapped due to the high investment cost. This research is conducted for ship owners and banks and will reveal the actual impact of the BWM convention. This is realised by calculating the impact on the internal rate of return (IRR) for each specific vessel. It provides the bank with a tool to monitor what effect the BWM convention will have on their clients. In addition, the tool is able to identify high risk vessels with an internal rate of return below 9%.

There is a significant historical link between maritime trade and economic activity. With the rapid growth of containerised trade over the past 60 years, a significant share of global trade is transported by container nowadays. This suggests there is a connection between container flows and economic activity. There is also a time delay between containers with goods being imported and the announcement of quarterly Gross Domestic Product numbers. With US container imports and exports being publicly available information, this leads to the research question of this thesis: Can loaded and/or empty container flows be used to predict economic activity?” If so, this could prove to be valuable information for economists, policy makers and, as this thesis highlights, professional traders working at investment banks or hedge funds. This thesis focusses on analysing transpacific containerised trade as a potential so-called forward indicator of US GDP. To measure these transpacific flows, an aggregate of US West coast port data is produced and de-seasonalised. The container flows are separated into Loaded In, Empty Out and Loaded Out flows. It is important to understand the dynamics of container trade and the variables influencing it on this route. Variables are identified that could possibly affect the supply-side of container shipping and therefore the transpacific container flows (the demand-side is seen as an expression of economic activity). After analysing the Cross Correlation Functions (CCF) of the identified, data based influencing variables, five different GDP growth prediction models are constructed. This is done by performing OLS single and multivariate regressions of the individual container flows (together with the influencing variables) on historical GDP growth data from 2000 to 2017. The resulting models are tested against an existing, commonly used forward indicator: the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI). The results show that three models, all using a form of loaded containers, outperform the PMI when predicting the direction of US GDP growth 3-months ahead over the 17-year time period of the dataset used. The probability of large prediction errors with these models are also smaller than the PMI benchmark model.

Wing-in-ground (hereafter referred to as WIG) vehicles operate a few meters above water. The vehicles make use of the ground-effect (an effect where the drag is reduced, and the wings of the vehicles generate an increased lift). The unique speed and distance range of a WIG vehicle — a vehicle that, in functionality and appearance, sits somewhere between a ship and an aircraft — could be an ideal option for high-speed passenger transport on routes with ‘medium’ distances. That said, WIG vehicles have hardly ever been seen in civilian applications, such as high-speed passenger transport. This report answers the question: can WIG vehicles operating as high-speed passenger ferries, be feasible and profitable? This feasibility is assessed on the basis of literature research and real examples of WIG performance, functionality and profitability. Suitable routes and vehicles are selected based on criteria analyses. Using financial estimations, the profitability of two suitable WIG vehicles on two separate routes is investigated.The specifications of recently built WIG vehicles and their design drivers are analyzed by performing a literature research. This information reveals that WIG vehicles have one main limitation: a low seaworthiness. It is then likely that this limits the seakeeping operability for a number of vehicles. To deal with this limitation, suitable vehicles are selected using a criteria analysis. The literature research shows that the WSH-500 and the Aron M80 both have a relatively good seaworthiness. The vehicles differentiate in size (48p & 6p). The costs of the vehicles are estimated by using general aviation cost estimation theory. A criteria analysis based on seakeeping operability and number of passengers and distance, shows two suitable routes: ‘Buenos Aires – Montevideo’ and ‘Helsinki – Tallinn’. The potential demand for WIG transport on these routes is estimated by creating demand curves of transport. The strategy to market WIG transport on these routes is estimated by using a market research to gage the potential demand. A suitable strategy is to target the top niche of customers on these routes. The profitability is estimated by combining the suitable vehicles, cost of vehicles, routes and strategy. The net present value and internal rate of return is calculated for a number of cases that are explained in this paper. The cases vary mainly on the following aspects: vehicle, total investment and route. In conclusion, WIG vehicles operating as high-speed passenger ferries can be feasible and profitable. The technology behind WIG vehicles has a technological readiness level of 8 out of 9. There are multiple, full-scale prototypes made and tested. Suitable vessels and routes have been selected to deal with the primary limitation that comes with WIG vehicles; they have low seaworthiness capabilities. The seakeeping operability rates of the selected vehicles and routes range between 91% and 100%. The net present value (NPV) and internal rate of return (IRR) of investments made in a WIG transport company can be positive in a number of cases.

Harsh market conditions make optimising the performance in shipping more and more important. Shipping companies are becoming more and more data driven due to developments in data systems and these harsh market conditions. The goal of this research is to determine how and how much added value can be realised through shipping performance management with the help of a ship performance monitoring system within Spliethoff Group. This research continues after the development of the performance monitoring system. The demand or this research arrived from the fact that simply putting a performance monitoring system in place does not realise added value. Applying the knowledge creation from the performance monitoring system through well structured performance management is what realises the added value. Determining the methods and quantifying the potential results is what is done to realise the goal of this research. During the research it is found that high data quality is of the utmost importance in order to accurately asses the performance of a vessel. A structured method for assessing the data collected by the performance monitoring is found and applied to the performance monitoring system as a verification. Data quality deficits such as the speed of the ETL processes, incorrect data blending and calculations are identified and corrected. This led to a near live, high quality data stream which can be used to asses and optimise the performance. Continual assessment and improvement of the data quality is recommended. Suitable methods to analyse this data to create knowledge are determined. A form of hybrid modelling where simple theoretical models are fitted to the filtered data using regression is used to create baselines and give a clear overview of the effects of certain operational parameters on the performance of a vessel. These models can then also be used to increase the accuracy of tools such as the weather routing and voyage planning tool. Benchmarking between sister vessels or the baselines is seen as a good means to identify performance deficits. Visualising and analysing the data with the help of a BI tools is a good way to share the knowledge throughout the company. The performance management in place at Spliethoff is assessed to form a baseline to improve upon. It became apparent that Spliethoff overall has a good idea how to optimise performance but it does not have the information or data needed to do so. Since there is no information about the gain in performance of certain tools they are not used correctly. Being able to show the performance gain from using these tools is an important benefit of the performance monitoring system. The communication and knowledge sharing throughout the company can also be improved with the use of the performance monitoring system. Poor follow up from upper management when performance deficits on top of this indicate that a lot of value can be created with an improved performance management plan which incorporates the performance monitoring system. A new performance management plan based on ISO 50001 is proposed to realise this value. Due to the available data the management plan focuses on reducing fuel costs and optimising voyage planning.This is done by awareness creation through performance dashboards which also increase the information sharing between shore and vessel. A change in company culture to a more data based decision making and communicative culture is promoted and implemented through this plan. To determine how much added value can be realised, the costs and value realisation potentials of the performance management system are specified. These are then used to determine the net present value of the performance management project for several scenarios. A large fleet and a small fleet implementation are researched. The total capital investment is either €543,000 when only the large consumers of the fleet are included (small fleet) or €1,310,000 when almost the entire fleet is included (large fleet). Only the direct monetary value is used to determine the net present value but indirect and non monetary values are also mentioned. The direct monetary value potentials are derived from operational cases where performance deficits have been identified. The resulting total added value (NPV) of the small fleet implementation ranges from €2,165,970 in a pessimistic scenario to €8,711,272 in an optimistic scenario after 11 years. €6,000,146 is the expected total added value realisation for the small fleet implementation after 11 years. For the large fleet the results are: €4,966,756 for the pessimistic scenario, €18,103,704 for the optimistic scenario and and expected added value of €12,805,994 after 12 years. Most scenarios have a pay back period of less than 2 years with the exception of the pessimistic scenario of the large fleet which has less than 3 years. All indirect and non monetary value is seen as a bonus on top of this meaning that there certainly is a lot of added value to be realised by implementing performance management which is supported by a performance monitoring system.

Economies are rapidly growing. Production and consumption rates are higher than ever before. And the disposal rates are increasing with it, with the absence of any waste infrastructure that can suffice. Global pollution has turned into one of today’s biggest threats for the environment, wild life, and humans. This thesis is specifically focussed on the case of plastic reaching the oceans, and how to turn this problem into value. A methodology has been developed to quantify the feasibility and effectiveness of plastic recovery solutions from oceans, rivers and waterways. It was quickly found that no source has been able to capture the totality of the problem of ocean pollution yet. When looking into feasible and effective solutions, the connection between today’s status of the problem, the potential barriers, and an investigation of its impact proved to be absolutely crucial. For this specific purpose, several models were developed, including a bow-tie model, the Strategic Solution Space (a summary of essential qualitative factors when designing for high impact), and a trajectory study as a foundation for research. These all combined supported the development of a methodology for assessing plastic recovery solutions; incorporated in this approach are a high level technology screening, a qualitative judgement of benefits, and two case studies of the most favourable concepts. Eventually, turning the problem into value is embodied by guidance in design of recovery solutions, identification of the most important parameters and its relations, a description of the willingness-to-pay, and lastly, recommending the greatest needs in scientific research. Altogether, the combined value presents the ultimate incentive to act.

Due to the increased social importance and regulations on shipping emissions, effort must be made by shipowners, operators and naval architects to reduce the amount of air emissions from ships. A large set of emission control methods exists, but compatibility and interaction issues complicate their implementation. This thesis contains a decision-making method tailor-made to the case of Seatrade. The decision-making method makes a cost comparison of different emission compliance methods for an arbitrarily ship, making use of the NPV. Case studies are performed to get an indication of the promising emission compliance methods for the Seatrade fleet.

To plot the roadmap for the oil & gas sector, it is essential to do the market demand analysis and research the influencing mechanism of oil price on the offshore projects market and offshore equipment market. The equipment market of IHC IQIP is primarily the market of offshore structures installation. This project is combing the technology research and the market research of offshore installation equipment.

The crises of global warming, air pollution, acid rain and the running out of oil make the investigation into alternative fuel technologies crucial. New technologies are being investigated on a global scale in an attempt to address these problems. This thesis investigates the use of hydrogen-diesel dual-fuel engines and fuel cells. The economic feasibility includes the comparison of these energy converters with more conventional alternatives. The storage of alternative fuels, the reforming of hydrogen carriers or the inclusion of carbon capture systems are some of the aspects considered in the analysis.

Problem statement - Damen Shipyards (Damen) wants to use Big Data analysis to gain new market insights and forecast vessel demand. These insights are valuable because Damen keeps standardised vessels in stock in order to significantly reduce delivery times. This concept gives Damen a competitive advantage, but is not without risk since they must speculatively build vessels beforehand. As a case, Damen wants to improve the current forecasting methods for the thriving offshore wind market - for which they supply vessels - based on data derived from the Automatic Identification System (AIS). AIS data includes among others information about identification, location, speed, date and time of approximately 200.000 vessels worldwide. Made Smart Group (MSG) is an information service provider specialised in nautical information, and maintains the world’s largest AIS database. MSG and Damen joined forces for this research. Objective - The objective of this research is to determine if and how Big Data analysis can be used to model (future) demand for Crew Transfer Vessels (CTV) being used for Crew Transfer Operations (CTO) in the offshore wind industry. Methodology - Almost 45 million AIS location reports of 39 CTVs servicing 263 turbines in 3 offshore wind farms throughout 2016 are analysed to derive key figures of the executed CTOs. Key figures are e.g. the weather window, and the number of executed CTOs per hour. The CTV demand is modelled based on these key figures, and three wind farm specific input parameters: number of turbines, distance between wind farm and port, and the sea state distribution. Results - The CTO demand of the 263 analysed wind turbines was on average 113 per year in 2016. This average CTO demand has a variation of almost 50% between turbine types. With an accuracy of 4%, it is modelled that a yearly average of 12.4 CTVs are needed to service these 263 turbines. Furthermore, the CTV demand decreases on average with 11% in the three analysed wind farms if the CTO limit can be increased from 1.5 m to 2.0 m mean significant wave height. This result in a potential cost saving around € 5.1 million on a yearly basis for these three wind farms alone. Implications - AIS data can be used to model vessel demand and gain insight into the market size. The accuracy of the developed model can be improved by adding: more wind farm specific variables; and/ or data of more CTVs/ wind farms. The gained knowledge about using Big Data analysis to forecast the CTV market size is useful and important for the introduction and future development of commercial AIS based data analysis. Furthermore, it provides insights into the operational profile of CTVs. This can be used to develop better vessels, better service the market and ultimately help to lower the cost price of offshore wind energy. It is believed that the maritime sector could profit from AIS data analysis.

This work is focusing on the 2020 IMO sulphur regulation and its impact on the shipping industry and more particularly Fednav’s activity. The thesis report presents a holistic approach starting with IMO emission regulations including current and future. The thesis is then moving on to Fednav business characteristic followed by the possible solutions to successfully implement the 2020 IMO sulphur regulation and stay competitive. These solutions are shortlisted to LNG and scrubber as they are the only mature technologies already implemented in the industry. They are then analyzed using both a private and welfare cost & benefit analysis to evaluate LNF and scrubber systems economic feasibility from a business and society perspective. LNG is discarded based on low bunker availability worldwide in combination with Fednav’s fleet tramping sailing patterns. For the scrubber, the opened loop solution is selected as the one offering the best return on invest- ment. After the welfare cost & benefit analysis, all scrubber solutions are also discarded because of the low pH washwater dump in the ocean. The strategy for Fednav is to make sure Canada is strict on sulphur regulation, mitigate bunker sensibility risk as well as bunker quality risk.

In this thesis a model is set up to assess the economic viability of early stage buoyancy design concepts. The main research question is to find out if a versatile design approach to the buoyancy lifting concept, i.e. being able to take on multiple projects, can result in an economical viable solution for decommissioning offshore platform jackets in the North Sea. The economical viability is tested against the benchmark figure set by the current heavy lifting removal costs. From a market assessment it becomes clear that 8,190MT is the most promising size for a buoyancy device with an unknown versatility range. The minimum versatility range that the buoyancy concept of 8,190MT should achieve, is 940MT. A removal cost of 3,500 €/MT is used as a benchmark, in accordance with the Oil & Gas Authorities' estimate and cost reduction milestone of 35%. Three buoyancy lifting concepts are set up using design requirements distilled from the market assessment. These are the single structure DeltaLifter concept, the double external buoyancy caissons (EBC) and a configuration of external buoyancy tanks (EBT). All three concepts are tested on their technical feasibility and the operational practicability. The methodology used in this research to assess the economic viability is to calculate the removal cost per metric tonne for every concept and compare it to the benchmark. To find the removal cost per metric tonne the initial investment costs, the job related voyage costs and the time dependent operating costs are estimated in the model. The investment costs consist of three parts; the building costs, capital costs and scrapping income. The building costs are constructed with a model of Carreyette and optimised for pontoons. Later ballast control system costs and clamping and skidding costs are added. The capital costs are omitted from this model as it is unlikely it will be financed with any form of debt. The scrapping income is modelled as the steel weight times the scrap rate per metric tonne. The DeltaLifter turns out to be the most expensive structure to build, at roughly 17 million euros. The other two concepts will costs between 10 and 12 million euros. The voyage costs are build up by multiplying the day rates of the assets required to operate a buoyancy lifted removal by the number of days offshore and adding the lump sum costs for an operation. The voyage costs lay between nine and eleven million euros per job, for the DeltaLifter and the EBT concept respectively. The fixed voyage costs are what could be expected for a buoyancy lifted removal. The running costs are higher than expected, due to the large amount of assets modelled to run an operation. The operating costs for buoyancy lifting concepts consist of two parts, i.e. the storage costs and the maintenance costs. The storage costs are modelled as quayside storage using quotes from different ports around Europe. The maintenance costs are modelled as a percentage of the investment costs. The yearly operating costs of the three concepts lie close together around 250,000 €. Finally the removal cost per metric tonne is calculated for the three buoyancy lifting concepts. It can be concluded that a versatile design approach to the buoyancy lifting concept, i.e. being able to take on multiple projects, does result in an economical viable solution. All three concepts presented in this research break even under the benchmark for multiple jacket removals. From the three concepts presented in this report, the EBC concept turns out to be the most promising concept. It is the cheapest structure to build and operationally the best concept.

The shipping industry accounts for a significant share in global GHG emissions. Especially since Business as Usual (BaU) scenario studies project that the emissions due to shipping could increase by 50 [%] to 250 [%] in the period to 2050 (IMO, 2015), shipowners face a potential regulatory threat. Major climate regulations for shipping already entered into force, and a range of possible instruments may be applied going forward. Possible instruments are among others, tightened EEDI limits, port discounts, ETS, or a Carbon Tax. Besides the risk of direct regulation, there is also a risk of being indirectly impacted by energy and/or climate regulation in other sectors. The direct and indirect regulations can adversely impact the operations, cashflow, and economic value of enterprises of existing shipowners and charterers of ships. Shipowners and financiers that are unaware of these developments, or that do not take timely mitigating actions, may potentially face considerable financial losses. This research investigated and ranked the level of Carbon Risk for shipowners across several sub sectors. The objective of the research was to: define, measure, and reveal the level of Carbon Risk for shipowners and to assess mitigating strategies as part of the assessment of the bank’s exposure to Carbon Risk. Typical core drivers, factors, and dependencies have been studied from literature in order to come up with an effective approach to capture the threat of Carbon Risk. As a result, a Carbon Risk framework is been developed, showing (inter)dependencies between all Carbon Risk factors. By developing the framework, this research contributed to the current understanding of the (inter)dependencies between Carbon Risk factors. In addition to the framework, typical Carbon Risks have been identified for the shipping industry. This research focuses on Structural Risk. A Carbon Tax is used as a proxy for Regulatory Risk and demand substitution (i.e. a 20 [%] reduction of cargo) is used as proxy for Substitution Risk. By distinguishing vessels by type and size, we account for different technical, operational, and market characteristics. We focus on crude oil tankers, container ships, and bulk carriers because they are the three most significant sectors from a CO2 perspective (IMO, 2015). The presented findings about the difference in impact between sub segments could have implications for risk premiums which financiers can set on loans. Also, given that the DCF of fuel-efficient investments is positive related to a Carbon Tax, it is assumed that fuel efficient technologies and retrofits become more viable. Even before regulatory certainty, it is advised that shipowners and financiers (as part of their Carbon Risk mitigation strategy) research fuel efficient mitigation options (technological investments) under different Carbon Tax levels. Even without Carbon pricing, efficiency measures generate significant cost savings. When there is certainty about future market-based measures, early adaptors/investors of viable fuel-efficient measures (under future regulatory conditions) will benefit most of the investment and improve their competitive position. Also, when shipowners act sooner than competitors, they lower the risk of scarcity of resources (yards, engineers).

Spliethoff is a ship-operating company with around 120 cargo vessels under management. The vessels of Spliethoff are generating a lot of operational data as they sail around the globe. To make better decisions based on this data, a system is required that takes operational data and translates it to useful information, accessible in the offce and on the ship through online dashboards. Ultimately, better informed decision making should lead to cost minimisation in the areas of fuel consumption and maintenance. In this research a Ship Performance Monitoring System (SPM System) for operational data of Spliethoff's vessels was developed, after which data analysis was performed with the goal to minimise operational cost of the vessels. The SPM System was developed using a Rapid Prototyping methodology. By conducting decision support analysis, data requirements analysis and user requirements analysis, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for the system were established and coupled to endusers. In general, one can state that when developing new information systems, end-user involvement is key. If end-users are not involved from the start, interest will be low, resulting in limited added value. Using the SPM System, data analysis was performed targeting a number of key questions with regards to fuel efficiency, maintenance and ship operation. Firstly, from the data analysis it can be concluded that for a Spliethoff S-Type vessel the most fuel efficient speed is 14 knots, both in laden and unladen condition. It is recommended to implement this speed for all voyages where the schedule allows it. Accurate implementation of this speed optimum could result in bunker cost savings of up to 10% over a voyage. Regarding engine efficiency, the specific fuel consumption (SFC) of the main engines of all three vessels is worse than the specifications given by the engine manufacturer. This is according to expectation, given the fact that manufacturers specifications are attained at different conditions. The development of SFC over time showed that the main engine maintenance schedule currently employed is working effectively, so it is advised to continue in the same manner. Hull and propeller fouling negatively in uence fuel consumption and speed of a ship. In the data analysis different trends are found regarding fouling. Therefore is is recommended to prolong the measuring period to at least a year before drawing any conclusions. If after a year a fuel consumption increase in the region of 5% is measured, it is advised to increase hull cleaning frequency to once every year. Regardless of any measured fouling increase, it is recommended to inspect the hull of all vessels at least twice a year to increase knowledge of fouling. A ship's crew is of large in uence on the operational cost of a ship. Consequently, more intensive collaboration between office and ship on the vessel's operation is suggested, using data in a supporting role. Training crew for correct use of onboard decision support systems and giving feedback on performance will build awareness among crew and increase fuel efficiency. The SPM System can be improved by installing thrust sensors on the vessels. Implementing a newer correction method for wave added resistance will also enhance the system significantly. Thirdly, it is recommended to reduce dependence on manually entered data to a minimum, due to the inherent inaccuracy of manual input. Finally, matching data quality of all different data sources will increase the precision of the system. In general, the biggest challenge for Spliethoff is to create a company culture where decision making is data-driven. This will yield the biggest benefits.

Digital platforms are on the rise and have affected strategic conduct and market structure in industries. The impact of digital platforms on the heavy lift shipping industry is not clear to Jumbo and they, as a supplier in this industry, need a digital strategy in order to seize the new opportunities and to defend their position against the threats in their industry that are driven by digital platforms. This research provides a strategic advice to Jumbo, by the analysis of the impact of digital platforms on the heavy lift shipping industry and by addressing the opportunities and threats to Jumbo based on their position in the by digital platforms affected market space. A framework is developed by literature research into the impact of digital platforms on industries that can be applied to the heavy lift shipping industry. The market structure and strategic conduct in the heavy lift shipping industry are explored by a market analysis and Jumbo's strategy and performance in the industry are explored by a company analysis. The types, value adding processes, effects and strategic implications of digital platform in the heavy lift shipping industry are addressed by the application of the framework to the market characteristics from the market analysis. The meaning of digital platforms to Jumbo is deduced from Jumbo's position in the heavy lift shipping industry and their potential approach. Strategic options for Jumbo are developed and assessed and finally a strategic advice is provided to Jumbo.

Investigating the processes of the nautical service providers in the Port of Rotterdam in order to benefit the creation of an agent based model of the nautical chain.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has been working on the reduction of emissions in sea shipping. This has been done by stricter regulations over the past years in the form of emission limits. An important element which determines the success of this reduction, is the enforcement of the emission limits. A drawback of the current enforcement procedure is that there is insufficient insight in what happens at open sea or, for example, at the borders of an Emission Control Area (ECA). TNO investigates if there are methods to improve the enforcement of emissions in shipping. Therefore, TNO started a research into an on board emission monitoring system. This report is the first step in this research and has the objective to recommend an on board monitoring system that is able to monitor pollutant emissions of seagoing vessels. The polluting emissions of seagoing vessels that are investigated in this report are: sulphur oxides (SOx ), nitrogen oxides (NOx ), particulate matter (PM) and black carbon (BC). The legislation study showed that there is no legislation for an on board emission monitoring system. This means that there is no obligation for the system in the near future. However, the IMO and the European Union want to investigate enforcement options in the future, which offers possibilities for the emission monitoring system. The available on board monitoring systems were divided into two groups, the low-end systems and the high-end systems. It turned out that the low-end systems are not yet sufficiently developed to withstand the maritime conditions and could therefore not be used as an emission monitoring system in the near future. The high-end systems showed to be suitable in the near future as an on board monitoring system. Therefore, the high-end systems were compared and assessed with each other on characteristics like: robustness, costs, accuracy, number of sample points, dimensions, emission measurement and maintenance. The assessment of the high-end systems was executed in the form of a multiple-criteria decision analysis. The on board emission monitoring system that scored the best was the Opsis M800 from Consilum. The main advantage of this system is that it operates with the UV/IR Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy principle. The big advantage of this principle is that the sensors and the exhaust gas are separated, which causes much less maintenance. The above mentioned on board emission monitoring system is therefore recommended, which means that the objective of this research is met. To improve this recommendation it will be desirable and recommended to test all the high-end systems in practice in order to determine and compare their performance for the above mentioned criteria. The opinion from the stakeholders is that they see potential in the system, especially with the task to create a level playing field, after the implementation of the 2020 sulphur limit. However, they also indicate that international legislation will be necessary to implement the system successfully. The shipping companies also indicated that they see potential for the on board emission system besides the enforcement task.

Mercurius Shipping Group invested in two container-crane vessels which are able to load and unload cargo to and from its holds. Due to their unique feature, the crane, failure of the vessels results in large financial consequences. Previous experience showed that these costs could be mitigated with easily/timely available spare-parts. The main aim of this study was to increase the reliability of Mercurius Shipping Group's container-crane vessel MKS Mercurius by proposing an optimized spare-part inventory. Subsequently, by doing so, reducing the total costs of operating and maintaining the vessel and ensuring profit maximization for MSG. Cost models have been developed to quantify the reduction in financial risk of failures, by having spare-parts directly available, and to determine the costs of keeping a spare-part inventory. As a result a list of spare-parts is proposed based on a comparison between the reduced failure impact/costs (benefit), with a spare-part in inventory, and the corresponding annual inventory costs. The results showed that a cost-effective improvement to vessel reliability, due to a decrease in vessel downtime, can be achieved with direct availabiltiy of spare-parts kept in inventory. Currently equipped with two container-crane vessel the optimum inventory consists of 13 components, requiring an investment of €50,000 and leading to an improvement to the vessels financial performance of €13,000 per year. In case MSG decides to relocate one of the container-crane vessels, the impact of failure increases. In this case the recommended inventory should be expanded to 28 components, requiring an investment of €137,000 and leading to an improvement to the vessels financial performance of €55,000 per year.