A novel ship energy efficiency model considering random environmental parameters

Energy efficiency management is becoming increasingly important in the trend towards decarbonisation and intelligentisation of future ships. Establishing a verified energy efficiency model is essential in realising reliable assessment of various energy efficiency strategies. Based on a 53,000-tonne bulk carrier, modelling and verification of a ship's energy efficiency with consideration of multiple factors is carried out. First, the existing ship's energy efficiency regulation and its evaluation methods are introduced. Second, the onboard data collection system is introduced with the features of the measured data detailed. A ship energy efficiency model is developed from four main aspects, namely ship energy efficiency operational indicator, ship fuel consumption, ship main engine power, and ship resistance characteristics. Based on the Monte Carlo simulation method and utilising Matlab/Simulink, the energy efficiency model for the selected ship is simulated and measured fuel consumption data is used to verify the model. Finally, the simulation results are presented and discussed. The research results show that the devised model provides good enough accuracy to simulate ship energy efficiency with consideration to cargo loading, ship speed and the random impact of multiple natural environmental parameters. This study not only helps the ship manager assess the projected energy efficiency, but can also provide decision support for the optimisation of ship energy efficiency.