VAF’s Erik van Ballegooijen will present on the Journey of Operational Ship Propulsion Performance improvements during the Vessel Performance Info Athens forum on February 23rd, 2023.

The landscape of requirements for vessels concerning the environment and emissions is expanding rapidly. The latest additions includes IMO EEXI, CII, EU, ETS, new company ESG regulations and green ship finance. All of these factors exert pressure on operating a vessel as sustainably as possible. But how does one achieve that? How can the sailing of a vessel be improved? Which sensors should be added, what data should be collected, what will be the impact, and what are the operational considerations?

To address this complex set of questions, accurate data is crucial as a foundation for decision-making. This is where the journey begins for proper monitoring and measuring of the vessel’s propulsion performance.

The presentation will delve into the various stages of this journey, discussing how to translate data into actionable insights. It will explore the recommended hardware (sensors, data collection systems) and software solutions (monitoring dashboards), as well as the required maturity level and experience of the vessel performance department. All of these insights will be supported by real vessel data and experiences from VAF customers.

About the event
Today, we have an abundance of decarbonization products, tools and reporting schemes. However, our ability to make informed decisions to drive decarbonization remains quite limited, whether you are a charterer, shipping investor or owner, technical manager, superintendent or seafarer.

During the Vessel Performance Info Athens forum on February 23, you’ll gain insights into how charterers and shipping companies can develop a better understanding of the factors that truly drive decarbonization. Additionally, you’ll explore how technology providers can contribute to enhancing this awareness.

Charterers still face challenges in identifying vessels with the lowest emissions at the best price. Shipowners struggle to determine which new ships are worth investing in. Technical managers find it difficult to decide on the most worthwhile technologies, while superintendents and crew grapple with knowing the best course of action. Shipping company chartering departments need to assess whether accepting specific cargo and required voyage speed will push a vessel into the ‘D’ band of CII in its annual report. Technical departments need to understand the potential savings from the range of available options.

Given the myriad decarbonization choices, encompassing fuels, technology changes, routing and speed, the confusion over these options is only set to increase as more become available.