Real-time and historical data gathering provided by specific Eniram technologies has proven again that this kind of visibility on board one vessel or across entire fleets is crucial information ship owners and operators need to know in order to fully optimize fuel and propulsion efficiency.
Eniram Limited, the fast-growing Finnish provider of energy management technology and data analytic services to the shipping industry, today announced that it had been named by Cleantech Group (CTG), developer of the i3 market intelligence platform, as one of CTG’s five picks as a European Cleantech Company of the Decade. This one-off award was made in connection with the 10th anniversary Cleantech Forum Europe, held in Stockholm this year. The award was made in Stockholm’s City Hall, the venue of the annual Nobel Prize ceremony.
A sensor is a device that measures some kind of input from the physical world. On complicated technical systems such as vessels, there is an enormous amount of different sensors. The number of sensors will surely grow as the size and cost of sensors continuously decrease. A person technically trained is able to gain some information from a single sensor reading, but the information is much more useful when the data from multiple sensors and sources is combined and aggregated at a higher level. At a higher level the whole vessel can be seen as a moving sensor that is collecting data from environmental conditions as well as the performance of the vessel.
The future of shipping lies in having the technological expertise to measure vessel performance in order to achieve optimal fuel efficiencies and support regulatory demands. Given the increasing fuel costs and environmental pressures on compliance, freight rates are now very close to operating costs, leading to razor-thin margins, and, in many cases, operating losses. It is not surprising that given the confluence of business conditions in the maritime industry, companies are finding themselves in troubled waters and many facing extinction unless vessel management is accompanied by a more intelligent approach to achieving operational efficiencies.
Part of my job is performing pilot installations of our systems onboard many types of ships, which is both invigorating and challenging. With any new ship design, the first step is to get as much knowledge as possible about onboard operations. A couple of months ago, I headed out to sail on a modern LNG tanker. As it turns out I was in for a little more than I expected due to some typhoons we got to meet.
This month Eniram released a study regarding hull fouling. Increased regulations and fuel prices are forcing operators of all vessel types to tackle inefficiencies in their operations. Hull fouling is a key contributor to higher fuel consumption. According to the study depending on the coating applied to a vessel, the financial impact of operating in areas with a high risk of developing fouling can be up to $500,000 a year for a single cruise vessel.
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Officer of the Watch 