ECA Operator Aims to Reduce Bunker Consumption to All-Time Low

DFDS says it is aiming to reduce its bunker consumption to record lows.

Danish ferry and transportation firm DFDS says it is aiming to reduce its bunker consumption to record lows for 2017.

"We have reduced consumption by 3.5 percent from 2012, and we aim to reduce it by 5 percent by 2017," said Poul Woodall, Director of Environment and Sustainability at DFDS.

"We have several ways to reduce oil consumption. One is changing schedules and being faster at loading and discharging ships to get more time at sea so we can reduce speed. This is the most efficient way of reducing fuel consumption," explained Woodall.

DFDS says that the company's total consumption in 2015 was 422,509 tonnes, a reduction of 12.4 percent, or 66,200 tonnes, compared to the previous year.

The company explains that improving and monitoring engine efficiency, changing pump valves, reducing required light, utilising LED lighting, reducing ventilation to a minimum, among other initiatives "all strive to reduce energy consumption a little bit every day."

DFDS says another way the company encourages fuel consumption is through a contest across its fleet's crews, offering a prize of €5,000 to those that can reduce oil consumption the most during a single quarter.

"This means that everyone on board thinks about what he or she can do to save fuel. This has triggered a flood of ideas," says DFDS.

The company says it also shares ideas and best practices between ships to glean fuel savings.

DFDS says bunker savings obtained from efficiency measures, "depending on the price of oil, have been as high as DKK 1.7 billion ($251 million) per year when the oil price was at its highest."

In November, Ship & Bunker reported that DFDS had achieved a "record result" during 2015's third quarter.