Towards IMO2030 emissions reduction

In our work towards developing valuable tools for the maritime industry, we have developed our ConnectFuel solution. We believe that ship management will be better equipped to adjust their ship’s fuel consumption if they have real-time monitoring and automated reporting.

As early as 2018, the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) announced clear and ambitious requirements that affect shipping. This meant, among other things, that the shipping industry will cut greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030.

There has never been higher pressure on international shipping to transform. The IMO 2030 emission target is challenging. To rise to the challenges, maritime technology needs a new approach.

We believe that Onboard Wireless Connectivity will be a major factor in this transformation.

Behavioural change

On land, it is almost unthinkable not to know how much fuel or energy you use whilst driving a vehicle. Most people have also experienced how energy consumption affects their driving patterns, especially when it is expensive to charge or fill the tank. At sea, it is a different ball game. Apart from advanced newbuilds, there are still many ships without real-time monitoring of consumption.

We in ScanReach have always had a strong belief that we could make an automated low-cost solution that would provide the maritime shipping industry with valuable insight into their fleet’s fuel consumption. That said, it sometimes is difficult to convince ship owners that fuel consumption can be reduced through behavioural change. While we cannot promise reductions, nor the amount of money saved, what we do know is that knowledge is crucial when making a change.

Therefore, it was with great interest that we read an article pinpointing to the very same message we have tried to get across since we launched ConnectFuel in June 2021. The article “How Individual Crew Behaviour Can Positively Influence our Carbon Footprint,” published by BS Ship Management touches on the very same belief.

Together with Signol, BSM is exploring how providing personalised performance feedback to more than 60 Masters and Chief Engineers on 28 vessels can positively impact their behaviour in selecting the optimum speed for the vessel. With motivational and positive feedback, we can hope to reduce CO2 emissions, save costs, and protect the environment through behavioural change.

We were excited to learn about their final conclusions when the trial and report were completed and shared. According to Bernhard Schulte and Signol’s Press Release, the conclusions were: Seafarers can be nudged to have an impact

The test was done by combining the analysis of operational data from selected BSMD managed vessels with tailored communications to motivate behavioural change through an app developed by Signol.

If you were a seafarer with access to real-time fuel consumption, would you save fuel when possible?

Quick access to the data, without cables and expensive retrofitting

Steel is not always ideal. If not already wired, it is expensive and time-consuming to cable up the ship. Many have tried various ways to make their ship wireless, with various results. 

With ScanReach, it is possible to access consumption data wirelessly on the bridge in only a few hours. The installation of the wireless mesh network providing data from a flowmeter is done by the ship’s crew or ScanReach personnel. The flowmeter can be an existing or new meter, in-line, or ultrasound. We made ConnectFuel, a tool for building awareness of fuel consumption. The tool for those behind the throttles who want to adjust and lower their consumption when possible.

Automated fuel consumption reporting

Consumption data may be made available to the company’s head office through our safe and secure cloud solution enabling data access on desktops or mobile apps

Until international shipping is equipped with a propulsion system that provides zero emissions, the real-time measurement will provide valuable insight to reduce fuel consumption.