Tackling the Problems of a Falling Market
The "boom" years of 2004 to 2008 have now been followed by the inevitable "bust"; how bad and how long it is going to last is uncertain but with the ship yard capacity worldwide at an all time high it is not likely to be a very short downturn.
Containers vessels and Dry Bulk have featured heavily in talk of collapse and the tanker market has not been so much in the headlines; nevertheless the tanker market has and will continue to suffer along with the rest of the world fleet.
- What is the commercial optimum speed for the engine and will "slow steaming" cause other associated technical problems?
- Secondly, the new and problematic situation with controlling emissions in the light of the new EU Directive for burning low sulphur fuel in European ports. This new legislation has brought with it some wide spread complications in regard to the safety or lack of safety attached to changing from bunker C to MGO when within the port. Already vessels are finding that adjustments are required in boiler design in order to avoid potentially hazardous situations. Prudent Owners wishing to avoid fines in Europe will need to be able to establish exactly what has been burnt and when the change over occurred.
Collecting useful data for immediate access by shore based superintendants may appear to be a luxury in a bad market but is in fact more necessary than in a high market. During the boom times an Owner could afford to replace and renew instead of repair since time lost was more costly than spare parts. However, in a low market savings need to be made in operating costs and catching a failing item of equipment in time to allow repair before breakdown or collapse occurs is part of controlling costs during the downturn. In a downturn it is important to look for cost effective monitoring systems which will not break the bank and put too much added work onto engine room staff but will provide information for preventative maintenance purposes, avoiding down time and costly renewals.
Datatrac is an innovative Data capture company who has already developed a digital engine room log and asset management system for hydraulic hoses. By the use of contact memory tags and ruggedised handheld tag readers it is possible to collect the data for a complete engine room log without the tedium of typing the data at the engine room computer. The digital log is produced in Microsoft Excel for maximum manipulation thereafter.
It is now combining these two products to provide performance data capturing to give Owners the ability, by reference to historic benchmarks, to measure the major performance criteria and at the same time keep a watch on engine performance deterioration. Such monitoring will save fuel costs by indicating bottom fouling at an early stage; will avoid charter party disputes on fuel burnt in auxiliaries or boilers for other purposes and allow comparison to be made across a fleet of sister vessels to find poorly performing units.
Many Owners are currently taking delivery of new-build tonnage and the ideal time to install new systems is at the outset when the cost can be capitalised and where crew training can take place alongside familiarisation of crews with new vessels. Not all expenditure on new equipment or new projects needs to be cancelled in a bad market; frequently an early investment to change systems is exactly what is needed to face the troubles ahead.