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Effects of slow steaming strategies on a ship fleet

Abstract:

Currently, container ships operators have implemented slow steaming (SS) strategies in their fleets to improve the profit margins by reducing operational costs. However, some ship owners are not yet convinced of this practice because the navigation time is increasing that cause a reduction of the number of travel per year of the ship. The use of speed reduction by liner shipping has been widely discussed in the literature. Nevertheless, this effect has not been studied in bulk carriers because they are navigating slower than container ships. This paper proposes a simulation model of a bulk carrier’s fleet composed by 13 ships from a unique ship owner in three conditions: the actual condition of navigation, the SS and the ultra-slow steaming. A discrete-event simulation model has been developed considering historical data of a bulk carrier fleet. The results obtained are the total fuel consumption, emissions and the cargo transported per year. These values are showing that the fleet can be operated with higher efficiency when the SS strategy is used. Indeed, the saving in fuel cost and emissions are balancing the reduction of the cargo transported per year.