Increasing Efficiency of Ship Manoeuvres by Strategic Planning

The effectiveness and sustainability of maritime transportation is gaining increasing importance and attention. The focus of IMO regulations and research has so far been on reducing fuel consumption and emissions as well as cavitation during the route areas with the same speed and constant engine operation, which predominantly affects the largest part of the overall route. However, for ships with a larger proportion of manoeuvring, such as ferries and cruise ships, the areas of travel during the approach and in the port itself, which are characterized by numerous, successive manoeuvres and transient operation of the engine, are of the greatest importance. In order to exploit and use the potential for savings in this part of the route in particular, unique software modules for fast simulation of manoeuvres have been created on the basis of research at the University of Wismar and development at the company ISSIMS GmbH, which can be used to create strategic concepts for manoeuvre sequences to optimize fuel consumption and emissions. In the presentation, various modules of the Fast Time Simulation Software for the prediction of complex manoeuvre sequences for the pre-planning of manoeuvres and for assistance during manoeuvring will be presented: The latest version of the software SAMMON - “Simulation-Augmented Manoeuvring Design, Monitoring & Conning” will be used to develop complete manoeuvre plans as examples of variants for approaching a port, based on different concepts for the use of azimuth propeller drives. They are compared with each other in terms of energy / fuel consumption. The SIMOPT software was further developed for the use of rotors to utilize wind power as an additional propulsion system. It is used to create and parameterize mathematical ship models and allows the script-based description and simulation of manoeuvres. Examples of the use of rotors in different wind conditions are discussed. A new module CAVIVIEW was developed to reduce the risk of cavitation during manoeuvres. It allows the predictive assessment of the development of cavitation risk during manoeuvres, so that the adjustment of engine commands is possible before the risk occurs. In this way, the reduction in thrust effectiveness and potential destruction of the propeller associated with cavitation can be minimized or avoided. During the presentation, the individual modules will be explained, application examples discussed and ideas for the further development of the software presented. The application of the software offers excellent opportunities for improvement and expansion in training, in simulator training and also for use in ship management on board