Lloyds Register sees need for new containership designs

Lloyds Register sees need for new containership designs British classification society Lloyds Register said there is a need for new containership designs that will allow vessels to operate at a variety of speeds.
   “Altering operational speed has substantial implications for both hull forms (slower ships can be boxier and, therefore, roomier) and for propulsion systems,” it explained.
   “High or volatile oil prices and environmental concerns, point to the need for new designs capable of operating efficiently at different speeds,” Lloyd’s Register said.
   Because of high oil prices, many owners have started running ships at reduced speeds. This can result in big savings in fuel costs; Lloyds Register calculates that a large containership designed for 25 knots at 70,000kW main engine power, can achieve fuel savings of 40 percent if it is operated at 20 knots.
   However, it also notes that nitric oxides can increase at some intermediate speeds. And there are “diminishing returns in slow steaming with machinery designed to operate at higher outputs — particularly when reducing speeds to below 20 knots,” the classification society said. “There are technical considerations involved in running at reduced power outputs: to ensure reliable operation from engines designed to run optimally at higher outputs, closer surveillance of engine performance and operating parameters, fuel quality, lube oil consumption and power-speed conditions will be required.”
   Slow steaming also helps soak up excess tonnage, since most carriers like to maintain weekly port calls, even if transit times are longer. Slow steaming has become particularly common on services over long distances, such as those between Asia and Europe, where excess capacity of large post-Panamax containerships has been most severe.
But Lloyds Register noted most containerships trading today were “designed for a world of relatively low energy prices” and furthermore, oil prices have fallen back to below $100 a barrel from highs of $147 a barrel in July.
   With that kind of fluctuation, it said “ship operators need to be prepared to manage high oil prices and volatility.”