VIEWPOINT

Shipping needs to make the leap to a new era of cross-industry collaboration, says

Laurent Leblanc of Bureau Veritas Marine & Offshore

Laurent Leblanc Senior Vice President Technical and Operations, Bureau Veritas Marine & Offshore

COLLABORATE TO INNOVATE

Shipping is operating within a new normal. Even before covid-19 triggered unprecedented social and economic change, we were already dealing with the impact of IMO2020 and facing the challenges of transitioning an industry to actively prevent and mitigate the impacts of climate change. This era of multiple crises: a global public health crisis, a crewing crisis and the climate crisis all point to the need for increased collaboration in the face of great challenges. Only by working closely together and committing significant resources to joint endeavours will we be able to succeed as an industry.

Shipping is facing global challenges. We need to decarbonise our entire operations (with the transition from analogue to digital a key cog in achieving that goal), while also adapting to new market economics. Whether it is choosing a pathway from the plethora of future-fuel options, or the often-complex array of technological innovations at shipping’s disposal, shipping needs clarity in its direction of travel. ACHIEVING TARGETS

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has outlined its greenhouse gas emission (GHG) reduction targets for 2030 and 2050, which aim to reduce CO2 emissions, as an average across international shipping, by at least 40% by 2030, pursuing efforts towards 70% by 2050, compared to 2008; and that total annual GHG emissions from international shipping should be reduced by at least 50% by 2050 compared to 2008. These ambitious goals will not be achieved without a broad, collaborative industry effort.

The sector must focus its collective minds on the fuels, energy and propulsion systems needed to supply the dense energy that ships need. To power ships today and for the immediate future, gas — principally LNG — represents the start of the transition as a viable alternative available for shipping to reach IMO’s 2030 targets, but more must be done.

This needs to be led by fuel experts providing the research and insight

required to make commercially and environmentally smart decisions. On top of that, class must take responsibility for its role in drawing up a pragmatic roadmap that offers clarity and assurance in terms of safety.

COLLABORATION IGNITES PROGRESS

Bureau Veritas became part of the “Coalition for the Energy of the Future” earlier this year, a coalition designed to accelerate the development of future energies and technologies to sustain new green mobility models and reduce the impact of transport and logistics on climate change.

The first seven projects for the Coalition range from focusing on green hydrogen, testing the first bio-crude oil dedicated to maritime needs to increase the use of biofuel along the supply chain and develop the use of third generation biofuels, to drawing a pathway for bioLNG and proposing a business plan to sustain port conversion into new green multimodal hubs, using lower-impact routing with greener energy by the end of 2021.

Crucially, the members of the Coalition extend far beyond shipping, bringing together a real breadth of expertise and knowledge. Without this diverse expertise and progressive approach from the different parties, this would not be possible.

Innovative projects and joint development programmes will certainly be vital to make sure we are ready for the future. Learning from, and collaborating with, different stakeholders with diverse experience certainly brings real power across the shipping sector and supply chains to develop the innovative solutions we need.

It is a collective approach and all our efforts need to be connected to sustain new green transportation models.

Bureau Veritas continues to partner with different industry sectors and invest in new innovations which will help the progress of marine sector in developing safe and successful alternative fuels. Understanding where we can learn and progress from other sectors will create broader progress for all. UNLOCKING DIGITALISATION

The benefits of digitalisation and accurate, informative data being available across the industry in turn benefits the customers and the carriers, then the terminal operators, vendors, and freight systems.

Closer collaboration provides huge value. There is no doubt that shippers are pushing for greater operational visibility, and that alliances and supply chain partners in connected sectors will demand better ways to share information in order to improve supply chain efficiencies.

For class, it is not limited to just a surveyor with a camera strapped to their chest. Rather it can boost shipping’s entire business operations, update existing processes and operations and harness the benefits of new technologies, along the full length of shipping’s supply chains.

In particular, digitalisation can unlock new technological innovations which can have an immediate positive impact.

For example, digital twin technology provides shipowners with the ability to solve operational challenges, predict faults and reduce downtime. Likewise, remote surveys can reduce costs and save time for both shipowners and class. Digitalisation can unlock an agile and robust sector, mitigating covid-19 disruption while securing its longterm future, in combination with the immense human talent in the industry.

In another example, Bureau Veritas recently highlighted the value of deploying an artificial intelligence (AI) solution for corrosion detection during a hull inspection of a water ballast tank on a bulk carrier by an aerial drone. The test was conducted in partnership with the RIT operator, MaDfly Marine Drone Services, in Dunkirk in real survey conditions.

During the hull inspection, Bureau Veritas confirmed the value of the solution to support the decision of the surveyor during his general visual inspection and close-up survey of the hull in a number of important ways from accessing real-time information, running the test offline without any connection to internet, and highlighting the capacity of the application to be deployed on the field with the computing capacity of a normal computer.

Seeing how other industries use AI and applying this in the shipping industry can make a real difference, helping the industry to be more effective with improved inspection standards and maintenance techniques.

The ambition for Bureau Veritas is to develop an end-to-end solution that will support shipowners and ship managers in anticipating repairs and better maintaining the hull condition of the ship. It will also support our team of surveyors by building their collective experience and knowledge around corrosion detection underpinned by AI solutions; a classic case of using cutting-edge technology to empower and support the human expertise of our surveyors.

Data analytics will support smarter decisions from design to operations. The digitalisation of shipping is not about reducing the importance of people, ashore or at sea, but about helping us make more informed decisions. As such, we have to recognise the need for training and new skills in shipping.

As a world-leading classification society, Bureau Veritas helps shipping mitigate risk, comply with regulations and improve ship performance. As an organisation, we are dedicated to working with the industry in a proactive and progressive way to support innovation through new rules and tools, anticipating the future. We are also constantly looking for new ways to develop and change our operations.

Cross-sector and, importantly, crossindustry learning and information sharing, will accelerate progress across the industry and will have a positive impact, globally, assisting in navigating the current challenges of our time.

From addressing the implications of the pandemic and biorisks, and assisting crew movements and seafarer vaccination, to accelerating emission reductions, we must accept that broad collaboration will only help us all to reap the benefits, commercially, socially and environmentally.

SIEMENS: DIGITAL TOOLS OPTIMISE SHIP EFFICIENCY

THE CHALLENGE OF MEETING EEXI

In June this year, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopted amendments to MARPOL Annex VI that introduced an Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEXI) for existing ships. The EEXI is applied to almost all oceangoing cargo and passenger ships above 400 gross tonnage. Requirements will enter into force on 1 January 2023.

Applying EEXI to your existing fleet involves two stages: first, assess each ship’s current CO2 emissions; second, implement technical solutions to reduce the emissions and meet the required EEXI target. But deciding which technical solutions to implement on each ship is not straightforward. How can you compare the efficiency gains of different options? How can you also take into account the costs associated with installing improvements and any changes in vessel speed or performance?

Shipyards and naval architects have been asking — and answering — similar questions for years as part of the process for designing and building new ships. Through a combination of simulation and model testing, they assess many alternative designs, including hull form, propulsion, energy saving devices, and so on so that every newbuild ship performs as required during the final sea trial, and now also meets the relevant Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) requirements.

However, implementing changes into your existing fleet to meet EEXI is more challenging. The ships are already in operation, so creating a physical model of the existing hull, adding modifications and running towing tank tests is expensive and time consuming. Model testing can also only be used for a small range of design changes, so the data is severely limited. This approach will not help if you want to investigate novel solutions such as wind-assisted power or keep the existing arrangement but run at reduced engine power, for example.

SIMULATION IS THE KEY TO REACHING TARGETS

The solution to finding the best efficiency improvements for your existing fleet is to go digital. The Simcenter portfolio from Siemens Digital Industries Software contains a range of simulation tools, which can be used to create a digital twin of your existing ship, assess its performance, then virtually test multiple alternative efficiency solutions. This gives the ability to explore a wide range of options and assess both their efficiency gains and potential cost implications, before any retrofit or sea trial takes place.

Simcenter includes tools for computational fluid dynamics (CFD), stress analysis, system simulation and design exploration and optimisation. These tools are designed to work together, but also form an open environment so can be linked to existing data sets or analysis tools. With a digital approach to efficiency assessment you can: » Test multiple contributing factors to any vessel’s energy demands in one virtual environment, including hull hydrodynamics, superstructure aerodynamics and drag, and rudder and propulsion systems. » Predict performance of the full-size ship, under realistic operating conditions. » Investigate new and novel configurations, and optimise the ship as a complete system.

Using a digital approach means you can virtually assess the performance of multiple efficiency solutions before choosing the best option to meet EEXI requirements SIMULATION-DRIVEN EFFICIENCY ASSESSMENT

A digital twin is a virtual representation of the physical ship, used to predict the performance during design and investigate the impact of changes when in operation. This virtual approach improves the effectiveness of the search for the best efficiency solutions and speeds up the design and retrofit process. Once the ship is in operation, the digital twin also benefits from the data feedback thread, for example from sea trials and mission profiles.

In a previous article in this magazine (Winter 2019), I discussed the benefits of a simulation-driven approach to ship design and performance analysis. This is based on a central ship model, which contains all available data on ship geometry, layout and performance — a single source of truth. For any

suggested configuration change, the required information for the current ship is drawn from the central model. Using Simcenter we can simulate and analyse the performance and explore alternatives to search for the optimal design. The data from this investigation is then fed back into the central model, available to all stakeholders. When a final design change is agreed, the central model is updated to include the new information. This makes the central model the heart of the digital twin for a ship throughout its lifecycle.

This simulation-driven approach also makes it quick and easy to ascertain the best efficiency solution for ships in operation, and to tailor designs to individual ships. Simcenter’s automated optimisation software can search for the best configuration within specified constraints: with this digital approach we allow computers to do the heavy lifting, and then experts and stakeholders evaluate and select from suggested best designs. For example, you can assess hundreds of alternatives to find the one which both minimises capital expenditure (CAPEX) during build or retrofit and meets your efficiency requirements while keeping operational expenditure (OPEX) at acceptable levels.

VIRTUALLY ASSESS A RANGE OF SOLUTIONS

In recent years, the marine industry has seen an explosion of possible efficiency improvement options and ideas, from hull-targeted solutions including energy saving devices or air lubrication, to engine adaptions such as scrubbers, alternative fuels or downrating for reduced power. Using Simcenter’s high-fidelity tools, all of these can be tested digitally before implementation, to find the best option (or combination of options) for your ship. For example: » Using simulation, energy saving devices and rudder systems can be tailored to individual ships. Becker

Marine Systems uses this approach for every installation of its Becker-

Mewis ducts, which provide up to 6% annual fuel savings. » Simulation is a key tool in the development of new efficiency solutions, such as wind-assisted propulsion. In a recent study, Cape

Horn Engineering used Simcenter to compare the delivered propeller power (and thus fuel savings) for the same ship with either solid wings or Flettner rotors. It found a 24% reduction in required power under given conditions if wing sails were used. » Companies are using simulation to improve scrubber performance. With virtual testing, it is possible to find scrubber configurations that deliver the highest scrubbing performance at the lowest pressure-drop and lowest equipment footprint to minimise its impact on operational performance.

PREDICT PERFORMANCE OVER MISSION PROFILES

Ship performance contracts are typically defined for a single operating point: design speed and draft. This is assessed during sea trials before final acceptance into service. But in reality, every ship sails over a wide range of operating conditions. Optimising performance for a single point in calm conditions does not guarantee safe or efficient performance across all weather conditions and complete mission profiles. Shipyards and owners are starting to recognise this and change their tendering requirements. For example, NYK Line and Japan United Corporation (JMU) have introduced a new contract guaranteeing propulsion performance in actual sea conditions. This will be verified using data collected during ship operation. Again, a digital approach to performance prediction can give full confidence before launch.

Using Simcenter, you can perform hydrodynamic simulations of your full-size ship, under any combination of wind and wave conditions. Using the included automated design exploration tools, you can quickly set up and run sweeps over different speeds or wave conditions. The whole investigation can run in a matter of hours on a cloud computing platform, giving you all the data you need to make fully informed decisions.

It is also easy to include the propulsion system in the simulation and investigate ship power consumption. In a recent webinar, we presented an example using Simcenter to predict ship minimum power requirements for safe operation in head and beam seas, as per the IMO process for obtaining EEDI certification.

ADDED VALUE FOR SHIP OPERATIONS

This simulation-driven approach is already being used by many companies during the early design stage for new ships. But with the new EEXI regulations, I believe the same tools can now add huge value during ship operations. In fact, this process has recently been approved by the IMO. As part of resolution MEPC.333 (76), the committee agreed that ship speedpower relations can be calculated using CFD, with no requirement for model tests. By applying digital testing via Simcenter to your EEXI compliance plans, you can have confidence in your planned solutions, whether retrofitting or engine modifications, and guarantee your fleet will meet all efficiency requirements, now and in the future.

For more information, contact: Dejan Radosavljevic Director, Marine Siemens Digital Industries Software Email: dejan.radosavljevic@ siemens.com Siemens.com/isde