Blue Visby LPG trials cut down GHG emissions

The Blue Visby Solution project (BVS) has completed a series of Prototype Trials (PT), involving 16 vessels (LPG tankers) under charter by Marubeni Corporation, a Blue Visby Consortium member.

The BVS/Marubeni PT was designed to test the BVS technology acting as a decision-support tool in a First Come First Served (FCFS) operational environment.

For the purposes of this PT, BVS technology provided the necessary optimisation information and recommendations for the operator to decide whether or not to implement BVS, so as to reduce GHG emissions by mitigating the effects of Sail Fast Then Wait.

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We are thrilled with the outcome of the second Prototype Trials, carried out with the dedicated and invaluable support from Marubeni Corporation, a Blue Visby Consortium member. These trials involved a fantastic team based in four countries, working on a 24/7 basis across time zones.

…said Christian Wounlund, Chief Executive Officer, Blue Visby Solution.

Over a period of several years, and with support from 32+ members of the Blue Visby Consortium, which is co-ordinated by Helsinki-based software company NAPA Oy and London-based law firm Stephenson Harwood LLP, the project has progressed iteratively through several stages: from academic studies to proofs of concept, to hindcast simulations in real operating conditions, to virtual pilots with the use of digital twins and, finally, to Prototype Trials.

Due to the FCFS operational environment, a key parameter of the BVS/Marubeni PT involved monitoring the operational status of a total of some 919 vessels on a 24/7 basis, so as to ensure that the vessels participating in the PT would not be overtaken by non-participating vessels.

The combined experience of two sets of prototype trials over a period of six months, with the invaluable support of Blue Visby Consortium members CBH Group and Marubeni Corporation, has demonstrated the feasibility of deploying the Blue Visby Solution in the two main operating environments in maritime trade: terminal stem and First Come First Served.

…said Haris Zografakis and Pekka Pakkanen, co-ordinators, Blue Visby Consortium.

Furthermore, approximately 31 actionable recommendations for vessels to reduce speed were issued, with projected fuel and GHG savings of about 29%, on average. This average figure was confirmed in the results from the vessels that followed the BVS recommendations.

These savings were delivered through speed reductions from an average speed of 13.6 knots, down to an average speed of 10.6 knots.

The BVS/Marubeni PT demonstrated:

Substantial GHG emissions savings.
The value of BVS as a decision-support tool, including in cases where a commercial decision is taken not to reduce speed, or to reduce speed only for part of a voyage.
The feasibility of individual ships using BVS to reduce GHG emissions in a FCFS environment, without suffering any commercial disadvantage, even in the absence of wider co-ordination or terminal involvement.
The BVS/Marubeni PT follows on from the Prototype Trials that completed in Q2 2024 involving vessels (supramax bulkers) under charter by Blue Visby Consortium member CBH Group, which demonstrated fuel and GHG emissions savings of approximately 8-28%. The BVS/CBH Group Prototype Trial was designed to test the BVS in the context of optimising for the needs of a terminal stem, rather than in a FCFS environment, which was the case in the BVS/Marubeni PT.