Danish owner Christiania Shipping says it has achieved big fuel use reductions through engine control software.
The Axel Eitzen-owned chemical and product carrier specialist said the Frugal Propulsion data solution has solved the question of Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index (EEXI) and Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) compliance.
Two tankers, the 11,400-dwt Jette Theresa (built 2009) and 7,900-dwt Alice Theresa (built 2010), were upgraded with the automatic intelligent control system, provided by Denmark’s Frugal Technologies.
Preliminary data shows that the owner has achieved a fuel saving of between 17% and 20% at eco speed.
At a speed similar to before the upgrade, the fuel saving is between 10% and 14%, depending on the vessel type.
The return on investment time is around a year.
“A significant reduction in fuel consumption ensures that the shipping company’s vessels comply with the EEXI regulations and improve their CII rate,” the two companies said.
All the owner’s 13 tankers of between 3,500 dwt and 12,600 dwt will be fitted with the system in the next few months.
Frugal Propulsion optimises the engine and propeller in relation to draught, load, waves and wind.
Machine learning helps continuous improvement.
Chartering advantage
“The investment in Frugal Propulsion is an important part of Christiania Shipping’s 2023 preparations, where new regulations from IMO will become effective,” the shipping company said.
“The market increasingly values a low carbon footprint when chartering tankers,” added Christiania’s chief operating manager, Rune Eriksen Lorentsen.
“Therefore, it makes a huge difference whether your vessel will receive a high or a low CII rating. In addition, the Frugal Propulsion system provides us with very accurate data on the ship’s performance, which helps us document our fuel consumption.
“With Frugal Propulsion, we now know exactly how much fuel we use and where and when we use it. Because of the system’s data, we have a detailed overview of the tanker’s total use of fuel. Thereby, we can optimise our energy consumption throughout the ship.”
Emission regulations will keep being tightened and it is important to stay ahead, he added.
Christiana was refinanced in December 2020 by Dutch shipping bank NIBC.
This allowed Eitzen to buy out Erik Bartnes and Nicolai Heidenreich, the two partners with whom he had bought the former Herning Shipping in 2018.
It left him with a 70% stake in Christiania, alongside institutional investors.
Frugal Technologies was founded by chief executive Peter Hauschildt and chief technology officer Lars Stoustrup.
