Marine Electronics
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FuelTrax’s marine fuel management system is to be used to help improve the fuel efficiency of Nigerian oil tankers, according to Blue Sky Networks, a service provider for Iridium-based GPS tracking and communication solutions. Upland Consulting, a management and strategy services company, will work with Blue Sky on the fuel management project that comes from a major petroleum company.
The FuelTrax integrated fuel management system, from Nautical Control Solutions of Houston, Texas, aggregates vessel route, engine and fuel consumption information and uses that information to determine the best route and maintenance strategies. The system, which has already been put into place for a number of shipping and tugboat companies, offers savings in fuel consumption of 10 percent and more. Besides just fuel consumption savings, the FuelTrax system comes complete with a Coriolis-based mass flow meter solution that allows for the accurate measurement of marine fuel, ensuring ships get the fuel that they are charged for.
As part of the FuelTrax system, Blue Sky Networks will integrate its D2000 GPS tracking and communications transceiver along with BlueSky’s Sky Router software service. The interconnected system will then allow for fleet control operators to analyze fuel, engine and route data to make necessary changes in operation procedures and routes to obtain the maximum fuel efficiency.
Fuel management systems have become more of an issue with shipping companies, and even oil companies, as the price of oil has risen. As a result of this, fleet managers are paying more attention to details such as engine rpms, the throttling habits of vessel operators, the level to which the fuel tanks are filled and the actual engine used on the boat.
This need for fleet managers to pay attention to details has led to fuel management systems that can make real time measurements over satellite communication networks. Real time data lets fleet managers quickly identify which ships are running below optimum fuel efficiency levels, which captains need to change their driving habits and even which types of boats and which types of engines are just plain inefficient. In fact, such fuel management systems are so convincing that ship salesman are expected to use them to help sell their boats and boat engines.
Because headwinds, currents and waves all have an effect on vessel fuel consumption, fleet managers are finding out that besides the crew, engine maintenance and the engine, that the route chosen is a major factor. Although in the past, the best path has often been the shortest, today’s fleet managers know that the most fuel-efficient routes take advantage of the wind, currents and waves. And because these conditions change all the time, often the route must be changed.
However in the past, fleet managers haven’t had the information they needed to determine the best routes and best operating procedures for their vessels. With the advent of satellite communications all this has changed. Now, with systems such as FuelTrax, fuel consumption can be determined in real time on a GPS coordinate by coordinate basis, allowing for fleet managers to determine why fuel consumption is declining or increasing. With the help of computer analysis algorithms, fleet managers can then send out vessel operating instructions, such as route changes, that will improve fuel consumption.
Another feature of fuel management systems is that they get better with time. As more fleet, vessel and route fuel consumption information is gathered, fleet managers can establish a baseline for fuel consumption expectations. With the fuel management software they can quickly spot routes that drive up their fuel consumption costs as well as determine which routes use less fuel. Crew can then be trained to adjust their navigation habits to obtain even better fuel efficiency. Besides all this, fleet managers can also use the data to determine not only the best routes, but also the best time to travel those routes.
