Implications of Bunker Consumption Monitoring in Liner Shipping

Abstract

Energy efficiency is the ubiquitous topic in shipping today. However, it had been neglected for numerous reasons. Now that environmental protection and cost-cutting have rightly come into focus, bunker consumption has become a target of optimization measures. It is now to the shipping industry to make up leeway and to make energy consumption manageable. To make energy consumption manageable means to make it measureable. This involves consisted data collection on board, data transfer to shore and a solid database that stores this valuable resource. Using a performance monitoring tool, employees on shore and onboard crew could be able to analyse and to evaluate current bunker consumption with the aim to reveal saving potentials. The gained information could be helpful to various departments and give answers on different questions within liner shipping organisations. This study examines the implications of bunker consumption monitoring system in liner shipping at the example of Hapag-Lloyd. The status quo of performance monitoring at Hapag-Lloyd and the already available consumption data are analysed. Furthermore is the need for bunker consumption monitoring evaluated and a potential target state presented.