Marine fuel management (MFM) is a multi-level approach to measuring, monitoring, and reporting fuel usage on a boat or

ship A ship is a large watercraft, vessel that travels the world's oceans and other Waterway, navigable waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research and fishing. Ships are generally disti ...

, with the goals of reducing fuel usage, increasing operational efficiency, and improving fleet management. MFM has grown in importance due to the rising costs of marine fuel and increasing government oversight of the pollution generated by the world's shipping fleet. Effective MFM requires that you know: * How much fuel is likely to be used * How much fuel is used * How the fuel was used * What things impact fuel usage * And by how much Manual methods of measuring fuel usage, i.e. fuel tank dipping or sounding, typically do not tell how much fuel was used: * Traveling versus idling while in

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...

or on station * By a specific

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ge ...

(

versus

starboard Port and starboard are Glossary of nautical terms (M-Z), nautical terms for watercraft and spacecraft, referring respectively to the left and right sides of the vessel, when aboard and facing the Bow (watercraft), bow (front). Vessels with bil ...

, for example) * Performing one job versus another * By crew A versus crew B on similar voyages Without a clear understanding of how fuel is being used, there is no operational baseline from which to compare any kind of fuel conservation tool or activity. Without a baseline, there is no way to determine if conservation strategies are actually working. MFM allows a fleet owner to track actual fuel consumption and relate fuel consumption to the work performed by the vessel. It supports the analysis of the effectiveness of operating strategies and helps develop a clearer understanding of how well a vessel uses its fuel.

MFM Main Functional Areas

* Operational Performance * Engineering and Maintenance Management * Management Oversight

Operational Performance

Operational performance includes those functional areas that impact the actual performance of a vessel or fleet. It includes fuel monitoring, inventory control, accounting, and engine throttle management.

Fuel Monitoring

Many marine vessels do not provide a way for captain and crew to measure and monitor fuel usage while underway. An optimum system onboard would include the ability to instantaneously monitor fuel burn rates from the wheelhouse. Individual engine and generator burn rates would be included, as well as fuel tank levels. This proactive monitoring would allow the crew to make decisions that positively impact fuel burn rates and efficiency.

Inventory Control

Fuel tanks need to have sensors installed that continuously monitor levels as fuel is taken onboard and burned by engines and generators. Periodically measuring tank levels using traditional manual methods is not accurate enough or timely, given the volumes of fuel that a marine engine can consume. Flow meters or gauges should be installed on transfer lines where fuel is taken onboard or off-loaded.

Accounting

In some parts of the world, fuel theft is an ongoing concern. Consequently, the accurate measurement of fuel taken on board coupled with the fuel actually consumed by engines and generators, is an important part of MFM. Flow meters should be installed in all fuel transfer lines so accurate fueling data can be captured. This data can then be compared with burn rates to determine whether fuel is being transferred off the vessel secretively. Beyond fuel theft, many governmental jurisdictions require that all fuel spill incidents be recorded and reported to the local authorities. For example, the Marine Department of the

Government of Hong Kong The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government) is the executive authorities of Hong Kong. It was established on 1 July 1997, following the handover of Hong Kong. ...

has specific guidelines for responding to accidental marine fuel spillsList of National Operational Contact Points
which reflect international requirements as promulgated by MARPOL, the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution From Ships. Additionally, accounting for fuel usage at various points along a voyage provides the ability to tie fuel burn and its associated costs to shipping or container rates. For example, understanding how a vessel burns fuel on certain parts of a voyage, allows the more accurate bidding of container rates so profit margins stay healthy. Consequently, varying shipping rates based on documented fuel usage rates can allow a shipper to bid more aggressively. A modern marine fuel management system would help in monitoring fuel usage, fuel transfer

bunkering Bunkering is the supplying of fuel for use by ships (Marine diesel oil, such fuel is referred to as bunker), including the logistics of loading and distributing the fuel among available shipboard tanks. A person dealing in trade of bunker (fue ...

events and could be configured to sound an audible alarm when refilling fuel tanks might lead to a spill.

Throttle Management

Vessel operators have the most control over fuel usage by the way they use the engine(s)

throttle A throttle is a mechanism by which fluid flow is managed by construction or obstruction. An engine's power can be increased or decreased by the restriction of inlet gases (by the use of a throttle), but usually decreased. The term ''throttle'' ha ...

. Wind, current, hull condition, load, and propulsion system health can all impact fuel burn both positively or negatively. Some operators choose to lower engine speed, and hence vessel speed, in an attempt to save fuel. However, engine

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...

and vessel speed alone are not indicative of total fuel consumption, so arbitrarily lowering engine speed does not guarantee fuel savings. One must do the

workflow Workflow is a generic term for orchestrated and repeatable patterns of activity, enabled by the systematic organization of resources into processes that transform materials, provide services, or process information. It can be depicted as a seque ...

calculations on how the propulsion system is operating under existing changing conditions and then tie that to fuel consumption. Simply lowering engine RPM does not guarantee an optimum vessel speed setting based on conditions. Some modern fuel management systems are designed to perform these calculations while underway and make recommendations to the vessel master.

Engineering and Maintenance Management

As with any capital

asset In financial accounting, an asset is any resource owned or controlled by a business or an economic entity. It is anything (tangible or intangible) that can be used to produce positive economic value. Assets represent value of ownership that can b ...

, manufacturers typically include the standard

maintenance The technical meaning of maintenance involves functional checks, servicing, repairing or replacing of necessary devices, equipment, machinery, building infrastructure and supporting utilities in industrial, business, and residential installa ...

practices and procedures needed to keep the asset functioning properly and within design specifications. In many cases, scheduled maintenance routines are based on laboratory or design parameters and do not necessarily represent the optimum. MFM supports proper maintenance on marine engines and generators by using the actual fuel burned or hours operated as the basis for performing maintenance routines. This

condition-based maintenance Predictive maintenance techniques are designed to help determine the condition of in-service equipment in order to estimate when maintenance should be performed. This approach claims more cost savings over routine or time-based preventive maint ...

program more accurately reflects the operating environment of the engine, but more importantly, reduces or eliminates unnecessary maintenance work.

Management Oversight

Management functions within MFM include: * Vessel performance analysis and overall fleet performance * Crew analysis with emphasis on applying lessons learned as

best practice A best practice is a method or technique that has been generally accepted as superior to alternatives because it tends to produce superior results. Best practices are used to achieve quality as an alternative to mandatory standards. Best practice ...

across the fleet *

Key Performance Indicator A performance indicator or key performance indicator (KPI) is a type of performance measurement. KPIs evaluate the success of an organization or of a particular activity (such as projects, programs, products and other initiatives) in which it e ...

(KPI) gathering across the fleet to include fuel burned per mile or per ton; throttle settings at various points on a voyage; engine RPMs and

exhaust gas Exhaust gas or flue gas is emitted as a result of the combustion of fuels such as natural gas, gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, fuel oil, biodiesel blends, or coal. According to the type of engine, it is discharged into the atmosphere through ...

analysis; and vessel performance against hull conditions. * Fuel management from purchasing to transfers to usage * Chartered vessel fuel performance and adherence to contractual obligations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marine Fuel Management Ship management Fleet management