Marine Policy ∎ (∎∎∎∎) ∎∎∎–∎∎∎

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Marine Policy
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/marpol

Ship performance indicator

Panos Deligiannis
NEDA MARITIME AGENCY CO LTD, Tankers Technical Department, Piraeus, Greece

art ic l e i nf o

Article history:
Received 5 February 2016
Received in revised form
25 February 2016
Accepted 26 February 2016

1. Introduction correction methods for deviated parameters to be applied. Means

of obtaining robust benchmarking level facilitates future practical
Merchant shipping remains the largest carrier of freight reference and monitoring of vessel’s performance.
throughout recorded history due to the economic advantages in- Kokarakis et al. [5], involving financial aspects of shipping,
volved. Optimum management of the global propulsion power suggest an expression for the daily Time Charter Equivalent (TCE)
may result in large cut down of marine fuel grades, which in turn as a function of the effective power and the vessel's speed, which
will benefit environment and the economics of the shipping is given as:
community. The most important OPEX cost factor is the marine
FRv
fuel (Journee and Maijers [1]), the price of which affects world TCE = − cR − pb*f ( PE, VS )
d (1)
trading patterns and modes and frequently is the fora main topic.
Although, water transport is still the most efficient mode (small where FRv is the freight rate, d the voyage distance, cR the daily
ratio of CO2 per cargo ton per mile) the aim is for further vessel's operating expenses and pb the price of bunkers. As individual
energy efficiency optimization, bunker minimization and in turn vessel speed trial determines the power versus speed function
reduction of CO2, NOx, SOx. An energy efficiency management (Van den Boom et al. [4]), they showed that the abovementioned
scheme cannot be sustained unless a meaningful and practical relationship can provide an optimum speed for given financial and
mode of monitoring is applied. Along these lines, Kariranta [2] environmental restraints.
presents the “Onboard-NAPA” computer software/hardware for on- From a different viewpoint, Devanney [6] brought out the un-
line collection of data, assessment of the hydrodynamic situation economic charter party speed clause, which today's VLCC market
and the provision of recommendations to crew and the office. is required to maintain a value in the range of 13–13.5 knots. The
From the scientific standpoint, vessel’s sailing is a complex implication of such a requirement has an indirect but significant
hydrodynamic motion through liquid (sea water) and atmospheric impact on CO2 emissions. As super slow steaming of about 8 knots
air medium, affected by the complex wave formation at the is the point of equilibrium on today's freight rate versus trading
boundaries of the hull with specific characteristics imposing dif- speed plane, only bilateral (charterer – Owner) understanding can
ficulties in accurately simulating the phenomenon of turbulence result in environmental benefits.
and assessing its effect on main engine power require- International bodies have attempted to control the matter of
ments. Journee and Maijers [1], recognizing the importance of energy efficiency by passing relevant regulation (IMO, MEPC.1/
accurately predicting the power and speed of the vessel for a given Circ.683) and guidelines (INTERTANKO [7]) to the international
set of meteorological forecast, worked on a computer software to shipping community, recommending that appropriate procedure
simulate the effect of added resistance due to rough sea and re- is in place for the monitoring of the fuel consumption and the
sulted steering as well as the effect on the vertical motion re- harmful emissions across the entire fleet, appropriately recorded,
sistance due to slamming. aiming for the mitigation of environmental pollution.
Townsin and Kwon [3] provide approximate relationships for The present study proposes a ship performance indicator
the practical estimation of the percentage of speed loss as a (PDno) and claims an effective monitoring by utilizing basic pro-
function of the Beaufort number. Henk van den Boom et al. [4] pulsion parameters without involving a complicated algorithm.
focus on the importance of accurate and transparent speed trial There have been a number of performance indicators in literature
methodology and determine the boundary conditions and the that are not completely independent from environmental effects,

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Nomenclature Peng Main engine maximum continuous power, kW

L Vessel overall length, m
foc Fuel oil consumption rate, Kg per day B Vessel breath, m
NCV Net calorific value, MJ/kg D Vessel depth, m
ρ Seawater density, kg/m3
Dp Propeller diameter, m Notation
VS Vessel speed through water, nautical miles per hour
VM Mean flow velocity through propeller disk, nautical MCR Main engine maximum continuous rating, kW
miles per hour DWT Deadweight tonnage, metric tons
VG Vessel transporting speed measured by the GPS, IMO International Maritime Organization
nautical miles per hour “Sailing” report: 24 h average navigational and machinery
N Main engine revolution rate, s
1 parameter values
p Propeller pitch, m VLCC Tanker 309–320 K DWT
S Slip, vessel’s actual speed to propeller advance speed AFRAMAX Tanker 105–115 K DWT
ratio CAPESIZE Bulk carrier 180K DWT
T Propeller thrust force, N SUPRAMAX Bulk carrier 57K DWT
pr Power ratio OPEX Daily operating expenses
PT Thrust power, kW KPI Key performance indicator
PC Fuel oil input power, kW
PE Effective towing power, kW

loading and operational conditions. The novelty of the PDno is

shown through its application on a large number of data, collected a. efficient operation of the main engine (inferior quality bun-
from quite wide range of hull, propeller and main engine sizes. kers, poor combustibility)
PDno serves a three-fold purpose. Firstly, it can be utilized in b. hull and propeller roughness
the framework of an environmental and energy efficiency reg-
ulatory policy to provide a shipping indexation. This is achieved by 7. Specific for crew to grasp
means of target identification during sea trials, recording during 8. Measurable, achievable, realistic and timely available
operational lifetime and verification during the occasional survey
by the authorities. The proposed policy framework may also in- 2.2. The marine propulsion
clude an incentivizing strategy for main engine efficiency im-
provement, hull resistance and/or wake optimization resulting in Propeller throughput water flow is responsible for the applied
the reduction of the baseline value of PDno. thrust on the shaft and in turn on the vessel (MAN Diesel and
Secondly, PDno provides the reciprocating interaction between Turbo [8]), producing a variable degree of wake yielding. This flow
the “Vessel” and the Office. Its constant value may be aimed and a strain is due to hull resistance (Journee and Maijers [1]) as well as
significant deviation from a baseline value can accurately pre- the energy loss into dissipated turbulence and its value is reflected
signify machinery and/or hydrodynamic shortcomings. on the apparent slip ratio S (Fig. 1):
Thirdly, PDno provides a commercial tool for defining the
VG
charter-party speed versus fuel oil consumption framework. 1 − S=
N *p (2)

The slip ratio is based on the actual vessel transporting speed

2. Theory (VG), with which vessel moves from one position to the other
(speed over ground, SOG). This way the effect of the current as
A key performance indicator (KPI) is devised, that compares well as the wave, wind and hull roughness is also taken into ac-
the chemical energy of the consumed fuel with the produced count. The apparent slip reflects the actual effective power as
propulsion effect. On the basis of the hydrodynamic fundamentals, percentage of the theoretical “frictionless” sailing with a velocity
a group of parameters, extracted from a daily “sailing” report, is reference point far away into the undisturbed sea region. Vessel
utilized to provide a unique value, which satisfies below com- navigating speed may be different from its transporting one since
prehensive set of constrains. water current tends to alter vessel’s position. The resistance, owed
to current, is related to the vessel drifting and in turn millage in-
2.1. The KPI requirements: crease. By involving only real slip (based on speed through water,
STW) a part of resistance is neglected. Thus, S recapitulates the
required load on the propeller in order for the vessel to maintain
1. Dimensionless number constant operational speed (VG).
2. Unique value for an individual vessel
3. Base value easy and accurately to determine, utilizing common 2.3. The propulsion diagnosis number (PDno)
speed trial data
4. Inclusive of the hull resistance effects (wave, wind, swell, Application of the steady state energy continuity equation on
current) the reference volume that surrounds the propeller determines the
5. Statistically constant between characteristic periods of time power transmission to the water and the resulted thrust. The
(dry-docking, major main engine overhauling, hull & propeller mean flow velocity through the propeller disk (VM) is related to
cleaning) the speed of the vessel (VS), affected by the wake of the hull, due to
6. Capable of providing diagnosis on the hull shape and roughness (steel plating inherent irregularity,

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 P. Deligiannis / Marine Policy ∎ (∎∎∎∎) ∎∎∎–∎∎∎ 3

Fig. 1. Propeller–water interaction.

coating, fouling), as well as the location, the size and the devel- The bunker quality effect is built in the PDno via the net ca-
oped boundary layer of the propeller. lorific value (NCV) and counts for possible increase in consump-
pr is defined as the power ratio of the effective towing power to tion due to quality of bunkers in use. NCV is readily provided by
the thrust power, which is transmitted from the propeller to the the bunker analysis laboratories as part of normal bunkering
water, procedure or can be calculated as a function of the bunker density
and the water, ash and sulfur content. Other combustibility effects,
PE
pr = which are related to engine performance and are not accounted
PT (3)
for, can be diagnosed through the resulted effect on the fuel
The fuel input chemical power is given as foc*NCV and the part consumption and in turn the drifting of the value off the PDno
of the chemical power utilized for effective towing, excluding ex- target.
ternal adverse effects, is defined as: PDno is based on basic navigational and propulsion parameters
that can be accurately measured (KPI requirements 7 and 8). The
PE=foc*NCV *(1 − S ) (4)
apparent slip is based on a straightforward distance measurement
Furthermore, the thrust force applied by the propeller to the by DGPS and the time in hours elapsed between 2 waypoints.
water is given as:
π
T = *DP2 *ρ*VM
2
3. The application
4 (5)

In effect, the thrust power transmitted to the accelerated water A large number of data was extracted from the Neda Maritime
is given as: Agency fleet (25 tanker and bulk carrier vessels) daily “noon” ar-
π chives, covering a time period extending since 2005.
P T = *DP2 *ρ*VM
2
*VS
4 (6) The set of data that is included in the analysis corresponds to
different type and size vessels, under varying external conditions
Based on the above (Eqs. (3), 4) and (6)
(weather, current, wave formation), loading and trim state (laden,
foc*NCV *(1−S ) ballast, even keel, trim by bow or stern). The raw data underwent a
pr = π
4
*DP2 *ρ*VM
2
*VS (7) coarse filtering processing in order for the outliers due to erro-
neous readings, incomplete or short voyages to be excluded. This
The denominator of pr, which represents the propeller load, is way, the bias of the mean value is minimized, allowing a more
related to the flow velocity through the blades and the ship’s accurate representation.
speed. Vm is affected mainly by the developed boundary layer Table 1 summarizes the specific information on the vessels that
between the blades and secondarily, by the wake of vessel’s mo- took part in the analysis. There are four types of vessel with
tion. The flow velocity at half pitch distance depends on local
friction velocity (u*), which in turn is heavily affected by the degree Table 1
of blade roughness. The significance of both hull and propeller Vessel characteristic information.
effect is embedded in the assumption that there is a known linear
Vessel # DWT LxWxD Engine power N at MCR PDno
relationship to describe VM, as a function of the propeller mean
speed (VM ¼ƒ(N, p) or VM∝N*p). 1 319,180 332.99  60  30.4 39,900 76 1.33
For an individual vessel, the generalized sheer layer effect is 2 319,319 333  60  30.5 38,706 75.3 1.27
assumed constant and the propeller load is related to the shaft 3 319,330 333  60  30.5 38,706 75.3 1.26
4 309,287 333.28  58  31.3 34,650 79 1.11
revolution rate to the second power and the ship’s speed. Thus, Eq. 5 309,020 333.28  58  31.3 36,960 76 1.23
(7) is simplified to the definition of the PDno, which maintains 6 115,319 249.99  43.96  21 19,380 105 0.34
non-dimensionality, assuming that seawater density and propeller 7 114,829 249.9  44  21 19,500 89 0.46
diameter and pitch values are constant, 8 105,328 248  43  21 19,100 91 0.45
9 105,328 248  43  21 19,100 91 0.44
foc*NCV *(1−S ) 10 180,000 292  45  24.7 25,370 91 0.58
PDno= 11 57,400 190  32.26  18.5 12,900 127 0.15
N 2*VS (8)

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4 P. Deligiannis / Marine Policy ∎ (∎∎∎∎) ∎∎∎–∎∎∎

Fig. 2. PDno dependency on Peng/N2.

respect to cargo handling and size, namely VLCC (309-320 K

DWT), AFRAMAX (105-115 K DWT), CAPESIZE (180 K DWT) and
SUPRAMAX (57 K DWT).
Over 10,000 records were processed in order to allow an ac-
curate estimation of the mean PDno value for the individual vessel
(Table 1). In a marine policy framework, the PDno unique baseline
value is determined during sea trials. In the present work, PDno
mean value is calculated over each data set. It will be shown that
this mean value statistically coincides with the baseline figure,
fulfilling #2 KPI requirement (Fig. 4). The data was collected from
2005 until 2013 with minimum investigation period of 24 months
(cases #2, 3).
Fig. 2 shows the regression analysis that resulted in a linear
relationship between PDno and Peng/N2 with correlation coefficient
close to unit. This suggests that PDno is mainly affected by the size Fig. 3. (A) PDno historical data (vessel #4). Fig. 3 (B) PDno historical data (vessel #5).
of the engine and indirectly, the size of the propeller, as these are
two interrelated quantities N ∝ 3 Peng /Dp5 (MAN Diesel and Turbo permanently deteriorated hull roughness, which required frequent
[8]). in-water hull and propeller cleaning thereafter, giving oscillating
character to the trend-line. On the other hand, in Fig. 3B, silicone
paint provides a low roughness height coating that reduces the
4. The analysis drag force and therefore, the effective power.
Engine de-rating, modification and major overhauling equally
A twofold analysis is attempted, firstly to show that PDno alter the value of PDno through specific fuel consumption im-
fulfills KPI requirements (paragraph 2.1) and secondly to demon- provement. Fig. 3B indicates the point where main engine major
strate the ability of the PDno to accurately predict fuel oil con- modification in the form of turbocharger cut out (isolation of one
sumption as a global performance monitoring tool, which unit) optimized the slow steaming performance by improving
addresses the hull and propeller roughness (fouling) and main combustion phenomenon.
engine efficiency (degradation), in the framework of an environ- Fig. 4 displays the comparison between the “calculated” and
mental and energy efficiency policy. “measured” daily fuel oil consumption (foc) data. It includes two
Fig. 3 show a typical representation of the historical values of sets of calculated values; one is coming from “sea trial” PDno and
PDno for selected cases (#4 and 5). These values are based on the
the other coming from the “noon” report averaged value of Table 1;
reported daily “measured” fuel oil consumption. The graphs in-
one set collapses over the other. For these calculations, relation-
clude data from the whole range of power and resistance that
ship 6 is utilized together with the actual velocity, shaft RPM and
corresponds to a large variety of encountered weather, current,
slip “noon” report values. Both sets of data occupy the same region
wave heights as well as draft. The draft values interchange be-
of the graph. Vessel #4 was selected as an example since this is the
tween the ballast and laden condition, which affect the hull form
one closer to mid-range.
drag force by almost 100%. As form drag force is related to the
The main bulk of the data lies within a narrow space sur-
shape and size of the obstruction, the cross section area for the
different loading conditions results in variable resistance. A rounding “y¼x” line, defining a quantifiable maximum un-
3-month moving average trend-line indicates the tendency of the certainty envelop for the foc prediction. The spread is almost zero
PDno to maintain constant value.
Expected deterioration of vessel's performance is depicted in
the form of oscillation of the trend-line between successive
milestones due to the drifting over time of the PDno value. This is
attributed to a major alteration of the hydrodynamic state of the
hull-propeller system and/or a significant main engine perfor-
mance variation. However, actual sharpness of change, for ex-
ample, due to hull and propeller cleaning is smoothed out by the
imposed moving average representation.
The increase of the roughness of the propeller and the hull is
part of the unavoidable evolution during normal vessel's operation
and sailing and reflects on the boundary layer energy dissipation,
which alters the wake fraction and in turn the value of PDno. In Fig. 4. fuel oil consumption comparison derived from PDno mean and sea trial
Fig. 3A, a prolonged storage period (idle) of the #4 vessel in 2009 value.

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 P. Deligiannis / Marine Policy ∎ (∎∎∎∎) ∎∎∎–∎∎∎ 5

Fig. 5. Q-Q plot: foc.

at the low end, linearly increasing towards the extreme con-

sumptions. This suggests constant percentage of error in esti-
mating foc. Improving data measuring techniques, instrumenta-
tion, as well as, crew awareness can minimize this error. Any de-
viation from actual fuel consumption value, other than the one
related to measuring accuracy, is related to the assumption for the
propeller in-flow velocity.
Q-Q plot (Fig. 5) is employed to provide a qualitative verifica-
tion of the null hypothesis suggesting that the error in estimating
fuel oil consumption follows a normal distribution around a mean
value. This is the case when ranked (ascending) arrangement of
the “measured” and “calculated” values occupies the loci of the
y¼ x line (Fig. 5). It can be seen that the linear trend-line passing
through these values shows perfect fit with a correlation coeffi-
cient of almost a unity and a slope of the corresponding re-
lationship very close to tan 45o. This suggests that there is no
significant bias of an unknown quantity that plays key role to the
analyzed parameter yet not be included in the relationship 6.
The corresponding PDno probability density function dis-
tribution is constructed from the data set of Fig. 5 and is shown in
Fig. 6. On the right of the mean, lie the data points for which the
foc is underestimated and on the left the overestimated ones. The
distribution follows normal mode as is also suggested by the Q-Q
plot, signifying the uniqueness of PDno for individual hull-engine
combination. Any other value is symmetrically located to the left
or right of the mean with frequency of occurrence indicating a
mostly unbiased, random effect.
Fig. 7 display different sets of data coming from three in-
dividual vessels (1, 4, 10). These graphs demonstrate the negligible
dependency of PDno on the fuel oil consumption, main engine
power, speed over ground, shaft revolutions and slip, even at ex-
treme values.

5. Conclusion

Air pollution mitigation marine policy requires stricter mon-

itoring of the fossil fuel consumption. To this extent, it was shown Fig. 7. PDno Independency on parameters.
that a simple group of parameters can be utilized to form a
monitoring tool that maintains a statistically constant value. PDno

includes the effect of external hull resistance and serves a three-

fold objective; policy framework formulation, charter party profit-
ability framing and performance diagnosis:

1. PDno is a policy tool that can be targeted, monitored and

verified.
2. PDno is a chartering tool that can be used for the estimation of
vessel’s speed and the required bunker consumption for a set of
power and laden input data.
3. PDno is a diagnostic tool that can provide indication on the ef-
ficient operation of the main engine and the hull/propeller
Fig. 6. PDno probability density function. heavy fouling.

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Acknowledgment steel/b-q:corrosion%20AND%20stainless%20steel/b-group-by:true〉.
[3] R. Townsin, Y. Kwon, Approximate formulae for the speed loss due to added
resistance in wind and waves, Transactions RINA Supplementary Paper, Volume
The author gratefully acknowledges the support of the Neda 125, 1983. p.199 (9 pp., 21 ref(., 7 tab., 9 graphs).
Maritime Agency Management for allowing the reproduction of [4] H. Van den Boom, I. van der Hout, M. Flikkema, Speed-power performance of
the fleet “noon” report data in the preparation of this paper. ships during trials and in service. SNAME, Vol. 126 2008 SNAME Symposium
Papers (SYMP) Houston, TX. 〈http://www.marin.nl/upload/5175b16b-86b1-
4a24-bde0-3ab094ff7a13_SNAME_2008.doc__Speed-Power_Performance.pdf〉.
[5] J. Kokarakis, V. Hatziyanni, G. Dienis, G. Vasilakis, M. Adamis, Contribution to-
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