Optimizing Fuel Usage for Container Ships

Maersk’s ‘Triple-E’ class vessels are the largest container ships in the world with each one capable of carrying over 18,000 standard containers. Triple-E represents the three design principles of economy of scale, energy efficient and environmentally improved, and therefore improving the performance of the fleet’s diesel engines was important to accomplish these goals.

Optimizing Engine Performance

As a measure for monitoring and minimizing fuel usage, ABB’s combustion control solution was installed on Maersk’s Triple-E fleet. ABB’s pressure transducers provide highly accurate and continuous measurement under all load conditions, and reduce fuel consumption by optimizing engine performance.

Bigger by Design

With heavier and bigger loads increasingly becoming the norm in the shipping industry, moving the goods around the world as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible is an ongoing challenge. Maersk’s Triple-E class container vessels are the largest in the world, with each capable of carrying 18,270 twenty foot standard containers when at capacity. Achieving reliable and optimum engine performance, even when under full load conditions and over the long-term, was thus important to maximize operational and vessel performance.

Reducing Fuel Consumption

ABB’s pressure transducers were installed to measure the combustion pressure of the electronically controlled twin 8-cylinder MAN diesel engines in the ship. This was done to optimize fuel consumption. These pressure transducers accurately monitor the pressure in each cylinder, continuously and in parallel, which allows tuning and controlling to be performed stroke-by-stroke to improve efficiency, save money and lower fuel consumption. In addition, this unique combustion control solution has been shown to be calibration- and maintenance-free for better performance capability over the long-term.

ABB’s combustion control solution is helping to reduce the fuel consumption of Maersk’s Triple-E class, the world’s largest container ships.

This information has been sourced, reviewed and adapted from materials provided by ABB Measurement & Analytics.

For more information on this source, please visit ABB Measurement & Analytics.