Americas News
NAT "Aggressively" Pursuing Fuel Savings
Nordic American Tankers [NYSE:NAT] (NAT) says it is moving "aggressively" to reduce its fuel consumption by making low-cost improvements to its ships.
NAT said it has already installed Alpha Lubricators on all its vessels and will add sliding valves on all main engines over the next few months, making it possible to safely slow steam whenever possible.
In addition, the company said it is testing other fuel-saving measures, such as equipment that ensures optimal water stream over the propeller and systems that adjust routes as weather systems change and continuously ensure the optimum trim of the vessel through the water, and it will implement those that are shown to boost efficiency.
Investment costs for each vessel are less than $1 million, and most measures have a payback time of about one year.
Collectively, the improvements are expected to boost efficiency by 10 to 15 percent, saving five to seven tonnes of fuel per day per ship.
NAT said it also continues to look at technical developments from shipbuilders.
"We believe that the basic technology and design of large seagoing vessels have not changed significantly and are not subject to radical alterations," the company said.
"It should be added, though, that new vessels ordered now from reputable yards have a more energy efficient hull form and more efficient propulsion machinery."
NAT has a fleet of 20 vessels with an average age of 10.6 years, up from 15 at the end of 2010, and it expects to continue adding more ships to its fleet.
Last month, the company announced that it had a new $430 million credit facility that will give it flexibility to buy more vessels, taking advantage of low prices.
