This study aims to develop a decision support tool which enables shipowners to select the most appropriate alternative fuel technology to comply with possible different imposed emission regulations while ensuring optimal business performance. In this context, most appropriate is defined as a fuel alternative which minimises required freight rate (RFR) while maximising overall performance on technological, environmental and other criteria. A decision support tool was devised combining a decision model based on the simple multi-attribute rating technique (SMART) with a financial model based on discounted cash-flow (DCF). Additionally, an optimisation model was implemented to optimise for minimal required freight rate through slow steaming. The decision tool provides shipowners with a quantified impact on their current business if they do not transition to alternative fuels under a 'market based measure' (MBM) regulatory scenario, as well as best-alternatives if their current fuels do not meet regulations under an 'emission cap' (EC) scenario. The decision tool is evaluated under optimistic, average and pessimistic scenarios in 2020, 2030 and 2050. Under an emission cap scenario, the results showed an overall preference for Fischer-Tropsch diesel (FTD) as the most promising alternative maritime fuel both in terms of SMART performance and required freight rate, followed by upgraded bio-oil (UBO). Nevertheless, the average difference in required freight rate of alternative fuels compared to HFO remains substantial, at 43% and 38% higher for Fischer-Tropsch diesel under a 'no regulation' scenario and 'market based measures' scenario, respectively. It is therefore evident that without regulatory intervention, heavy fuel oil is expected to retain dominance based on cost. Even under a market based measure (MBM) scenario, the average required freight rate of HFO increases only by 3.4% overall. For LNG, market-based measures lead to an average increase in RFR of 4.1%. These results suggest that in order for the maritime industry to transition towards sustainable alternative fuels, policymakers, governments, international organisations and lenders need to align their policies to collectively enable a more sustainable shipping industry - not only by enforcing stricter regulations, but also by providing the correct financial incentives. ... Read more

The IMO has proposed Just-In-Time arrivals and services as one of the short-term solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in maritime shipping. The Just-In-Time concept allows vessels to optimize their speed during the voyage. If a vessel earlier knows at which time it is requested to arrive at the pilot boarding place, the vessel can adapt its speed to arrive when the berth, nautical services and the fairway are available. Besides environmental reasons, shipping companies as MSC consider the Just-In-Time initiative as a major port call process optimization. It has obvious advantages for MSC since this concept aims to minimise unnecessary ad hoc waiting times and reduces fuel consumption per mile steamed. In the past, it has become clear it is extremely complicated to implement this initiative. Research is required in order to find out what needs to be improved to enable Just-In-Time arrivals and services. The current port call processes must be analysed. As start point, a case study is conducted on the port call processes of the world’s second largest shipping company in the biggest port of Europe. In this study, the current port call processes of MSC container shipping in the Port of Rotterdam are identified and improved in order to enable Just-In-Time arrivals and services. First, an actor-stakeholder analysis is conducted to understand the incentives and relations between actors involved in a port call. Subsequently, this information is used in the process analysis. In this study, the port call processes are analysed by both qualitative and quantitative research. The research has emphasized the complexity of the port call business processes. Actors primarily act on the basis of their own incentives. In order to enable Just-In-Time arrivals and services, collaboration is required among the involved actors. Today, most actors see the benefits of this concept. However, some actors are not willing to share data about their processes since this is considered as sensitive information. In case actors are willing to share data, it can be concluded that the information is not exchanged frequently enough or does often not meet any data standards. As last, this study shows that adaptations are required to the current business process of a port call in the Port of Rotterdam in order to enable Just-In-Time arrivals and services. ... Read more

In recent years, a rapid development of the offshore wind power market has taken place. The growing demand for more offshore wind farms and the desire to make this technology more cost-effective has created many challenges for offshore contractors and their technology, particularly for turbine installation vessels. Currently, the most widely used equipment is the jack-up type crane vessels. These vessels have been optimised for turbine installation operations but are now starting to reach their limits in performance, based on the further improvement of the wind turbines, the fact that the wind farms located further and deeper at the sea. As a result, new designs may be better suited to the challenging requirements of the wind farm developers. In practical terms, it is difficult to predict whether a new concept will perform better another. Operational data from past turbine installation vessel operations can be used to identify important parameters that influence performance but is not practical when applied to unconventional designs such as the concept ship, “Wind Turbine Shuttle” designed by Huisman Equipment in the Netherlands. An extensive study is necessary requiring perhaps the development of new analysis tools. This study attempts to identify the major parameters that influence the operations of turbine installation vessels. It investigates with the use of different operational scenarios, how the procedure of installation and transportation of these vessels are influenced by their parameters such as the pre-assembly method of the wind turbine or the wind turbine sizes and their operating environment, using a market and technology review of the wind farm market, a sensitivity analysis of various design parameters and different case strategies investigating the performance of different turbine installation vessels operating in a predefined wind farm location. Because several strategies have shown that weather delays have a major effect on the workability of the vessel, the simulation model uses wave height time series data from measurements made in the North Sea. For the sensitivity studies of design parameters, results show that for any scenario, an optimal value for both significant wave height tolerance and transit speed can be found. The optimal parameters for the scenario designed in this study are similar to the specifications of the Wind Turbine Shuttle. Overall, results show a definite advantage of using a turbine installation vessel such as the Wind Turbine Shuttle over traditional jack-up vessels. However, as the model is based on many assumptions, the accuracy of the results would be significantly improved with additional real life data. Regardless of this, the study has demonstrated the advantage of opting for a systems approach containing various models that are connected to each other. This methodology has many possible future applications, not only for the evaluation of wind turbine installation vessels but for any vessel type employed in the offshore construction segment. ... Read more

Jumbo Maritime is a shipping company active in the heavy lifting market. Jumbo uses stabilisers to enlarge the stability of the ship during lifting. By using stabilisers Jumbo can perform heavy lifts with a relative small ship, this is one of the major advantages. Downside of using stabilisers is that the installation and de-installation is a time-consuming process. Besides that the usage also causes safety issues, more and more port authorities no longer approve the usage of stabilisers. Research is done in finding alternatives for the use of stabilisers, focusing on alternatives for new ships that need to be build. Looking at Jumbo’s position in the market shows the following unique selling points, for the J-type: • Limited draft compared to its competitors • Length < 150 meters On the one hand the usage of smart stabiliser to speed up the installation and de-installation of stabilisers is looked at. Because smart stabilisers are still stabilisers, also alternatives are analysed that do not require a stabiliser at all. By widening the ship, the ship can be stable enough to perform lifts without extra support from stabilisers. A model is created to be able to determine the required width for each concept. This model is generated based on the input and requirements set by literature, market analysis and Jumbo’s specifications. Some of these requirements are: limited dimensions, minimum required stability, anti heeling and deadweight. The four concepts that are created as input for the model are: • Base concept, concept 1..., Concept 2... Concept 3...Concept 4...: A case study is performed to be able to compare the concepts. Three cases are created, which are actual relevant cases for JumboMaritime: For each concept the costs are determined to sail the certain case. Because the heavy lift market consists of somany single jobs that differ a lot on weight, complexity and distance it is difficult to map the revenues. The costs are determined per job, to be able to compare the different concepts. Costs consists of the capital costs, fuel costs and operational related costs. Besides cost per job, also cost per ton/mile is calculated to determine the economical speed. For case 1 the economical speed is 14 knots, which is similar to the required design speed. This means that the ships sails most cost efficient at this speed. The time that is saved by eliminating the stabiliser is used to reduce the sailing speed. In this way the same amount of jobs can done in the same time. This research shows that the saved fuel consumption as a result of slower sailing can compensate the longer sailing time and increased resistance for a wider hull concept. Comparing the concepts in the different cases shows that concepts 3 and 4 are more beneficial in case the stabiliser usages goes up. It can be concluded that awider hull shape can operate at 2-5%lower costs. The fuel consumption of the V-shape decreases more significantly at lower drafts. It is an advantage at ballast sailing or during sailing light cargoes. Besides the lower costs, the increase of deck space for the wider concepts is added value in the heavy lift market. An other important advantage of the wider ship concepts is the elimination of safety issues because the usage of stabilisers is not needed any more to lift heavy cargoes safely. ... Read more

Maritime transport covers about 90%of world trade and is seen as one of the most cost-effective way of transporting goods. In order to safely accommodate vessels calling into ports, tugs are operated to assist various sized vessels with navigating, manoeuvring and berthing. Competition within the ship handling market has always been fierce. Boskalis Towage, through a network of joint ventures, offers harbour- and terminal towage services around the world, comprised of about 450 vessels. Operating a large fleet comes large Operating Expenses (OPEX). In order to deliver a more cost-effective service, Boskalis turns to business intelligence (BI) to help with the decision-making process. Maintenance is crucial for the operation of the vessels, but also a large part of the expenses. Large deviations in maintenance costs and operational performance exist between the joint ventures. However, the reasons behind these deviations are yet unclear due to the absence of continuous monitoring capabilities. The objective is therefore to increase the management capabilities of detailed performance monitoring of M&R expenses and performance of tugs, through which possible improvements can be determined. The M&R of tugs is influenced by various factors, such as utilisation, operational location and installed equipment. This research has evaluated the current Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) of Boskalis Towage and used literature on Maintenance Performance Management (MPM) in order to erect a multi-criteria hierarchical function-specific framework which is a framework for maintenance performance monitoring. The presented framework covers aspects of alignment with business objectives and plan, strategy and implementation. Moreover, the framework presents the maintenance function and its areas of performance measuring of equipment-, cost- and process performance across the organisational hierarchy. By performing a regression analysis of the maintenance data, this has also resulted in an increased understanding of the relationship between maintenance costs, operational data and vessel characteristics. As a result, an equation with acceptable statistical accuracy for running repairs has been found. The implementing of the MPM framework on the maintenance of tugs has resulted in the MPM model. This model focuses on the running repairs and dry docking direct costs and activities, incorporating basic maintenance types, i.e. Preventive Maintenance (PM) and Corrective Maintenance (CM). Running repairs have been evaluated in the time domain while the evaluation of dry dockings have been evaluated as events due to their relationship with regulatory surveys. The model incorporates operational-, maintenance- and financial data, tug specifications and operational conditions in order to evaluate maintenance performance. Maintenance Performance Indicators (MPIs) have been established to determine deviations and deficiencies among the different aspects of M&R. Challenges were faced on the aspects of data quality and data management, especially in the areas of maintenance process. The model has been validated through a detailed evaluation of five selected tugs. The underlying reasons for the underperformance of these tugs have been found and verified with knowledgable bodies and thus validating the model and its ability to determine underperformance and deviations. An alternative performance analysis method, Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), has been researched and shows promise. The Slack-Based Measure (SBM) DEA model is a non-parametric frontier approach, based on Linear Programming (LP), to evaluate performance based on slacks (room for improvement) of Decision Making Units (DMUs). The method is capable of determining similarities in inefficiency in maintenance performance, comparing it to results from the MPM model. It, therefore, proves the method is capable of quick evaluation of maintenance performance and of determining new maintenance targets. However, the model is simplistic and requires further detailing and is unable to determine underlying reasons for underperformance. The regression equation and DEA have been used to formulate a so-called performance region which describes the lower- and upper bounds of the running repair costs for individual tugs. Unfortunately, data quality doesn’t allow for the determining of these bounds for all vessels nor for dry docking. New key benchmarking targets have been established through quartile values for respective Maintenance Performance Indicators (MPIs). With this newly obtained knowledge, future maintenance performance evaluation of tugs can now be performed with a higher detail through analysis conducted with the developed MPM model. ... Read more

Liner shipping companies engage in strategic cooperation to deal with the market’s overcapacity, capital intensiveness and volatile freight rates. However, these partnerships do not reach their full potential and have lowered the level of service in the industry. To identify how carriers would be able to realise further synergies, this study has investigated the current performance of liner shipping companies and developed a model to identify and assess potential partnership opportunities. This model supports liner shipping companies in their decision of who to partner with and what kind of partnership to pursue. The study has been confined to a single transpacific route. On the basis is an overview of vessels that sail this route over a period of several years. This overview includes information on arrival dates, number of containers on board, capacity and operator for each vessel. This is used to examine local demand and deployed capacity, vessel utilisation and competition. The analysis confirms trends found in literature, such as the growing size of vessels that are enabled by strategic cooperation. Most importantly, it indicates flexibility on the side of vessel operators in their decision of which vessels they deploy per route during the year. A synergy model has been developed based on the findings in literature and the results of this analysis. This model uses the identified flexibility in vessel deployment and builds on the notion that liner shipping companies should pursue more integrated partnerships to realise further synergies. The model was also applied to the case of CMA CGM’s acquisition of APL in 2016. After calculating the costs for sailing each of the available vessels, potential partnerships were identified for the analysed route. This was done by optimising vessel deployment for the cargoes to be transported at minimum cost and with a limited number of partners. A strategic-level assessment was then performed to determine whether a partnership would be feasible among the identified companies and to what extent integration should take place. By including both the companies’ motivations (drivers) and factors that facilitate a positive environment (facilitators) for the partnership, this assessment brings multiple perspectives to the table. The conclusion is that carriers can adjust which vessels they deploy to match transport demand and that they can use this to realise further synergies. By using a model with both a quantitative and a qualitative component, it is possible to identify potential partnerships that result in cost reduction, maintain high vessel utilisation and allow for improvements in the level of service that companies offer to their customers. It is recommended to extend the coverage of the model to include more routes, ports and vessels for a more comprehensive analysis. Furthermore, using variable transit times in the model to determine when vessels are available would make the model more realistic and would also allow changes in vessel speed to be included in the analysis. It is also advised to explore opportunities for regulatory bodies to apply this model for monitoring and assessment of the effects partnerships have on competition per route. ... Read more

This study was conducted to address the lack of insight port authorities have in port competitiveness. Within this thesis a data-driven model is presented that allows to assess port competition within a bounded scope. This model is developed from the ground up and programmed in the Python programming language as a stand-alone solution. The model doesn’t rely on extensive black-box models as often found in related literature. Due to its generic nature, the logistic chain choice model can also serve as a base model for different scenario analyses. Scenarios could include the change of ship-size, (oil) price or cost scenario’s and future throughput forecasts. The model can provide insights regarding effective port investments and policy making. ... Read more

The subject of this thesis is the development and evaluation of a modular well intervention business concept. The concept aims to bridge the gap between surface and subsea well intervention markets, currently served by different vessel types, using a platform vessel and equipment modules. The regional scope is South-East Asia, due to its low subsea intervention demand making it difficult for dedicated subsea intervention vessels to operate all-year round. The concept is evaluated from the point of view of the vessel owner and is limited to light and mediumwell interventions. The thesis consists of concept development ... Read more

The data-driven decision support system gives a competitive advantage by the cost-effective improvement of the fleet’s energy efficiency and by the controlled compliance with the IMO Greenhouse Gas Reduction Strategy. The conceptual Business Intelligence Design provides the foundation for data-driven decision support about energy efficiency for the entire Offshore Energy fleet. Boskalis Long Distance Towage department can cost-effectively improve their energy efficiency by 40% toward 2030 with respect to 2008 and thereby fully comply with the outlines of the IMO Greenhouse Gas Reduction Strategy. Boskalis offshore energy is recommanded to implement a Data-driven Decision Support System to manage the cost-effective energy efficiency improvement and the reduction of carbon emission. The organisational awareness and willingness to improve is a prerequisition for successful implementation. ... Read more

In 20 years, from 1996 to 2016, global cumulative container port throughput had an average annual growth rate of 6.3%. Furthermore, the average global transshipment incidence increased from 11% in 1980 to a stable 27% in 2017. This change in transshipment market dynamics has led to opportunities for potential port investments or disinvestments. In this research, a tool is developed for Royal HaskoningDHV that improves transshipment forecasts. The developed tool calculates the optimal ports for transshipment, transshipment throughput volumes, fleet utilization, and optimal cost routes. This is done by means of minimizing the total transport costs, while meeting container demand requirements and port and vessel constraints. The most statistically significant factors affecting transshipment volumes are incorporated in the tool. By modifying input parameters, the tool facilitates calculations of optimal cost future transshipment port throughput volumes. This could provide key insights in lucrative port investment or disinvestment opportunities. ... Read more

Stolt tankers is the largest operator of deep-sea chemical parcel tankers. Parcel tankers differentiate form bulk chemical tankers by the additional features that the ships have, such as cargo cooling, cargo heating, many (small) cargo tanks, highest level of chemical resistant materials and notation to carry the most dangerous chemicals. These features make the parcel tanker versatile compared to other tanker types, however this results in a higher cost. In the last twenty years, a shift has taken place in the deep-sea chemical shipping industry, driven by changes in regulations, funding of ships and macroeconomic factors. These changes have made the playing field of deep-sea chemical tankers more equal and commoditised, resulting in more competition by entries of new, privately funded companies with simple chemical tankers. Currently a large part of the parcel tanker fleet is nearing their end of lifetime and are expected to be recycled in the next five years. This creates the need to determine operating needs and requirements for replacements of Stolt Tankers’ ageing parcel tanker fleet. The goal of this study is twofold, first, is to determine the need for parcel tanker features in the market and, secondly, to determine the value that these features add. The findings have been concluded in terms of a priority for the feature in a new parcel tanker specification according to the MoSCoW prioritising technique.Analysis of the features is based on D37 parcel tanker class of Stolt Tankers. This typical parcel tanker class is a candidate for recycling in the next 5 years, and therefore a ideal study object for a replacement study. Four features were identified as giving the highest differentiation of a parcel tanker and are analysed in more detail: cargo cooling, cargo heating with thermal oil heating medium, small cargo tanks, and ship type 1notation. These features are analysed both qualitatively and qualitatively on its operation in the Stolt fleet, market demand and supply, competition and alternatives. The net added value of the features over the life of the ship has been calculated by means of a discounted cash flow analysis for base-,best and worst case scenarios.The cargo cooling feature yields the best added value for a new parcel tanker. The thermal oil cargo heating feature has a negative added net present value for only cargoes with this specific requirement. The study of the ship type notation has a low investment cost, however the loss of revenue by the capacity reduction is far more than potential revenues from thetype 1 cargoes. The number of cargo tanks has a large impact of the capital cost of the ship.Reducing the number of cargo tanks, i.e. the average tank size, yields a relatively large savingfor parcel tanker ship types. Combined with a decrease in the number of small cargoes, makes this a logical development for future parcel tankers. However, more research is required since there is a large discrepancy between the number of small cargoes on different trade routes.Based on the findings from the market and operational review of the D37 features the following priorities are given to the features. The cargo cooling system has been given a’Should Have’priority, the thermal oil cargo heating system has a’Could Have’and the ship type 1 notation a’Won’t Have’. Further research is recommended for the requirement of features of new ships with respect to the total fleet of Stolt Tankers. Secondly, modelling of cargo tank layouts with the statistical trading data is recommended to determine the requirements for the number and sizes ranges of cargo tanks ... Read more

Setting up or dismantling a shiprepair yard requires vast amounts of time and resources. Current shiprepair yards are land-based facilities that can not be moved when demand for their services declines. A mobile shiprepair facility would be able to and Damen Shiprepair & Conversion (DS&C) expressed interest to investigate the potential of a mobile shiprepair unit. When executed correctly, such a facility may reduce total repair time and thereby increase vessel availability through a higher shiprepair efficiency and reduction of travel time to the repair yard. The resulting competitive advantage can lead to profit maximization of DS&C.The goal of this thesis is to develop recommendations for DS&C regarding the feasibility of a mobile shiprepair facility. No facility of this kind exists to date, therefore the first step is to determine preliminary design features. The target market will be the mandatory intermediate and special surveys that a vessel is obliged to undergo every two and a half and five years respectively, requiring the vessels to undergo underwater investigations. A design feature following from that is the ability to haul vessels out of the water. The concept should moreover be sea-going, easy to (re)deploy and contain an all-round workshop and warehousing capabilities.Subsequently, the costs and projected revenues of the concept are identified and combined in a financial model. The cost items which differentiate a mobile yard from a traditional land-based shiprepair yard are: direct labour cost, machinery & installations cost, housing cost and travel expenses. Revenue results from shiprepair services and includes the quantified competitive advantage. The feasibility of a mobile shiprepair facility is then further evaluated in two case studies: the Caribbean sea and the west-coast of the African continent. The target market in the Caribbean are Supramax/Handymax size vessels and the target market in west-Africa is the support vessels for the offshore oil and gas sector. Both case studies evaluate a semi-submersible non-propelled facility that operates in a sheltered location.The Caribbean is the only area of the two case studies that shows potential. This can be explained by a higher efficiency and hence more projects that can be executed per year. Moreover, the same services can be sold for a higher price than on the west-coast of Africa. Several scenarios were identified in which the concept can be feasible on an annual base. However, the likeliness that these conditions persist during the projects lifetime is considered low and thus it is not recommended to deploy a mobile shiprepair facility in this area. Regarding the west-coast of Africa case study, even under the most favourable conditions - a very high occupational rate and an increase in target market conditions - it is not recommended to deploy a mobile shiprepair facility.It has been concluded using a stochastic sensitivity analysis that the duration of the maintenance project largely determines feasibility. The sensitivity to the fuel price, day rates of future clients and the reduction in deviation days were studied as well. All three were found not to be of large influence for the determination of feasibility, although it had been suspected differently for the last two. It has been found that the added value of the concept can not be transformed enough into a competitive advantage.If a change in conditions justifies the further development of this concept, this report provides several design criteria. Subsequently, recommendations are made on the design of a tool for the maximization of the reduction in deviation time of future clients to enhance the potential of the concept. ... Read more

Nowadays the interest for environmental issues is steadily gaining ground. Inescapably, the shipping industry, is also called to contribute its fair share towards the reduction of air pollution. Harbour tugboats need to comply both with international but also with local exhaust air emission regulations, which are anticipated to become more stringent in the future. Kotug, is interested to proactively explore suitable powering solutions, which can be applied at its Rotortugs’ newbuilding scheme, to comply with upcoming regulations of the intended port of operation. The goal of this thesis is to develop a decision-support tool to facilitate the selection process between alternative prime mover combinations, based on what is needed in terms of operation while considering technical challenges, environmental performance and economic returns. The effect of a variety of promising alternative fuels matched with suitable prime movers was investigated for the period 2018-2033, which was set as the study’s time horizon. LNG, Methanol, Biodiesel and DME were assessed as feasible solutions. The first two were associated with gas-burning engines, whereas the rest were associated with conventional 4-stroke compression ignition engines, similar to the ones already installed in the existing Rotortugs running on MGO. The environmental performance differs substantially to a conventional prime mover running on MGO. However, to adhere to future stricter regulations in certain sea areas, additional after-treatment systems are necessary. Research indicated three post-treatment solutions are the most effective in limiting the majority of the combustion-related emissions; Selective catalytic reduction, diesel particulate filter and oxidation catalysts. The total environmental fingerprint of a vessel can be however assessed only under the context of its propulsion configuration layout. The operational profile of a tugboat is highly variable, allowing room for the exploitation of different drivetrains than the traditional diesel-direct layout, which could lead in benefits mainly in terms of fuel efficiency and maintenance savings. Three drivetrains were selected; a diesel-electric and two hybrid, based on AC and DC topology. Before deciding to invest on a future boat a ship-owner is expected to be eager to comprehend the cost-related issues between alternatives. Moreover, the already proven design of the diesel-direct Rotortug, complemented by the necessary after-treatment technologies, makes sense to be the first option to consider, provided it complies with the anticipated regulations. This option is considered the baseline case. It is reasonable to compare all other options against the baseline case. To this end, a decision framework based on a techno-economic evaluation is proposed for supporting ship-owners to take informative decisions on investment considerations; Three objectives were set; economic performance, environmental performance and cost-effectiveness. To quantify economic performance a comparative TCO analysis was implemented, while for environmental performance the emission output of alternatives is compared. Last, cost-effectiveness adds valuable insight into how good money are allocated towards emission reduction targets and provides a methodology to compete for funding from a regulatory authority. Two case studies are presented that demonstrate the utility of these methods and enhance the understanding of the impact of decisive factors in decision-making. It is concluded that the proposed decision-support tool enables decision-support at an early-stage; nonetheless can still be improved, by incorporating additional factors and expanding certain modules with more details. ... Read more

In this thesis, it was examined how high-frequency operational data collected from an automated recording system, can be used to develop a vessel’s performance model. Both the traditional and the Machine Learning (ML) approach were examined. In the traditional approach, every component of the propulsion plant was examined separately, while empirical or semi-empirical methods were used for the added resistance due to waves, wind and shallow water. Historical data were used for verification and tuning (where needed) during the development of the model. In the Machine Learning approach, the method of Support Vector Machines was used. Also, it was examined whether a vessel’s performance model can be developed by combining the methods mentioned above. Thus, in total four models were developed. The data regarding the last year of operation of the vessel Schippersgracht were used (45000 data points) to test the models. It was found that with all the four models, 80 % of the examined dataset was calculated with an error of less than 10 %. The daily fuel consumption was calculated for the same dataset and for 90% of the days examined, the daily fuel consumption was calculated with an error of less than 10 %. The main conclusions about the developed performance models is that all the models resulted in more less the same accuracy. The model based on the traditional approach has the advantage that it offers more information and more outputs can be taken, compared to the ML approach which only provides the output of the fuel consumption. On the other hand, the model based on the ML approach is significantly faster and allows many iterations to be performed in a short time. Regarding the models which were developed by combining the approaches mentioned above, they did not result in additional advantages. Finally, two case studies were performed. In the first case study, it was presented how the model, developed following the traditional approach, can be used to examine how modifications in the propulsion system will influence the vessel’s fuel consumption. The case of switching from fixed rpm (that is currently used) to a variable rpm system was examined, which is a real scenario that the company is considering. It was calculated that installing the variable rpm system and a frequency converter will result in annual savings of around 250,000 € while the investment’s payback time is estimated to be around two years. In the second case study, a future voyage simulation algorithm was developed. This algorithm receives as inputs the voyage plan(route and speed) and performs a calculation for the voyage’s fuel consumption by taking into account the weather predictions. The voyage simulation algorithm is making use of the ML model. A few cases were examined in order to examine how many days in advance the calculation is reliable (due to the uncertainty of the weather predictions) and about the time interval that should be used in the algorithm. However, clear conclusions were not derived, and further examination is suggested(by examining more voyages). ... Read more

This study aims to improve of secondhand market model used in the Maritime Business Game (MBG) & to judge the relevance of three data mining algorithms. Pruyn developed MBG to simulate the long term consequences of various shipping scenarios. MBG consists of three multilevel models to represent the maritime economy. Starting from the Multi Country model, it goes down to the shipping markets model & ends at the fleet scheduling model. Secondhand market is a sub-part of shipping market module, where the shipowners trade their old ships. In real life, the valuation is done by shipbrokers under the assumption that vessels are in good working condition. Thus’s, physical characteristics have a little influence on the sales price. A structural model based on the physical characteristics can be a good complement to the broker’s judgment. ... Read more

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. ... Read more

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. ... Read more

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. ... Read more

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. ... Read more

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. ... Read more