DNV GL: Most Operators Have Low Bunker Saving Targets, Lack a "Complete Picture" of the Potential Rewards

Dr Jan-Henrik Hübner of DNV GL – Maritime, says performance monitoring is crucial to achieving energy management goals

DNV GL says its new Energy Management Study of 80 shipping companies across 24 countries, only about one third aimed for energy savings of five percent or more.

Three quarters of study participants named fuel savings as a topic of high importance, but DNV GL says that despite energy saving being considered a high priority within most of the companies questioned during the study, their savings targets are not ambitious enough.

"The awareness of the importance and benefits of implementing energy saving measures has grown since our last study, but the low targets set by most respondents indicate that companies may lack a complete picture of the potential rewards that can be gained with a relatively modest level of investment," said Dr. Jan-Henrik Hübner, Global Head of Shipping Advisory at DNV GL – Maritime.

"Only one in ten companies were aiming for gains of 10 percent or more, which is a level that our work with customers shows is attainable for many owners and operators through a combination of operational and technical enablers."

DNV GL says that while the greatest contributors to energy savings in 2014 were slow steaming, hull and propeller cleaning, and voyage planning optimization - all practices said to require little investment - organisational awareness is also a crucial component.

"Companies are now realising that simply defining a set of measures is not enough – to really drive energy savings there needs to be buy-in from both office staff and crew and the resources in place to implement retrofitting or other technical measures on board," said Hübner. 

The study is also said to have shown a "promising" rise in awareness of performance monitoring as a key part of improving energy efficiency.

DNV GL says reliable data collection, monitoring and analysis provides companies with ongoing transparency on energy performance, enabling them to identify obstacles to reaching targets and proactively improving vessel performance.

"Performance monitoring was ranked as the most important contributor to achieving energy management goals, with 53 percent of respondents wanting to implement or strengthen performance management over the next year," said Hübner.

"This is very encouraging, however, most companies are still undertaking manual data collection and reporting.

"The strongest performers have made the commitment to introduce not only IT-based performance management systems but a performance management culture."

Last week, DNV GL said it will be providing ECO Insight computations to The Jotun Group on a hull performance improvement project.