actment. One of these measures involves
Johan Snellman,Vice President for
setting interim guidelines on the method
Sales (Cruise & Ferries) is a long-time vet-
of calculation, and voluntary verification,
eran in the maritime industry, having start-
of the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI)
ed his career in 1981 at the Rauma yard.
for new ships. EEDI is intended to stimu-
Energy issues have developed a great deal
late innovation and technical development
during this period:
of all the elements influencing the energy
“Right now we’re working on a fer-
efficiency of a ship from its design phase.
ry for next year that is at least 50% more
“There is some debate about how to
energy-efficient in comparison to a twen-
apply the Energy Efficiency Design Index
ty-year-old ship,” he provides an example.
the right way, but there’s no denying the
fact that the present times call for more
SHAPE IT UP
energy-efficient ships,” says Johan Snell-
There are a great number of things that
man from STX Europe.
one can do to improve energy efficiency.
The shape of the vessel, of course, is one
Photos: STX Europe
key consideration:
“Long and slim is the optimal shape,
but it can be impractical also,” Snellman
says, adding that some ports – such as
Stockholm – do not take in ships that are
longer than 200 metres.
“Maneuverability is the issue here.”
Mr. Johan Snellman.
In addition to the shape of the vessel,
one can be make the hull slicker, bringing
down water resistance. Then there are the
propulsion systems which are constantly
that is just being wasted at present. This
being developed. In the similar vein, the
is something we still have to work on,”
new diesel engines have been fine-tuned
Snellman admits.
to specifically target lower fuel consump-
In the coming years, he expects that
tion. Put all these elements together, and
the energy efficiency can improve anoth-
the big picture can change – even dras-
er 10–20 % from the current situation. As
tically.
the price of energy keeps climbing, ener-
“If one can achieve 3–5 % energy
savings in each of these areas, this would
gy-efficient measures will start to bring in
increased savings.
mean that the total effect is considerable,”
Snellman says.
HEAT STILL WASTED
BALANCING ACT
Of course, especially on cruise ships people
do not like to surrender their comforts very
And that’s just the “outside” of the ship.
easily. Air conditioning is one area where
Internal energy consumption can be
improvements can be made only very care-
trimmed down a lot too. Losses and un-
fully – otherwise there will be a host of
used energy on ships constitute big num-
complaints from sweaty cruise customers.
bers. While a ship (a typical ferry) travels at
“Lighting is a similar issue. Not eve-
19 knots, heat and losses combined swal-
ry ship has to look like a Christmas tree,
low as much as 53% of the energy in fu-
but cruise lines like to do things their own
el. Propulsion losses account for 11% and
way.” ■
transmission losses around one percent.
“The ship generates plenty of heat
SAMI J. ANTEROINEN
seatec 2/2009
41