STUDY ON CONTAINER SHIP ENERGY CONSUMPTION

The shipping industry is facing three challenges: climate change, increasing bunker fuel price and tightening international rules on pollution and CO2 emissions. All three challenges can be met by reducing fuel consumption and improving global ship energy efficiency. This paper aims to analyze medium size container vessel energy based on the data collected from the sample ship during two regular voyages. The analysis covers the exergy and energy balance of the main components. Container vessels consume the most fuel of the largest fuel oil consumers as they have the most powerful engines. The propulsion is responsible for 82% of the energy demand on a container vessel, electric power production accounts for 17%, while steam generation is limited to 1%. It has been demonstrated that up to 64% of the ship energy consumption is lost to the environment by the cooling system and exhaust gas from propulsion engine and diesel generators. Exergy losses due to the exhaust gas and heat transfer are other contributors. By focusing studies on these items, we may be able to determine how the ship energy efficiency may be improved.