Energy efficiency with the application of Virtual Arrival policy

The shipping sector's emissions and energy efficiency are attracting increasing international scrutiny, with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) actively promoting better energy management by implementing mandatory Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plans (SEEMP). Key potential measures to improve energy efficiency and reduce emissions are speed optimization and improved communication with charterers and ports to work towards 'just in time' operation when there are known delays in port (Virtual Arrival). In this paper we assess empirically, for the first time, the potential reduction in fuel consumption and emissions from the implementation of a Virtual Arrival policy in a global context based on ship position data from the Automated Identification System (AIS). We evaluate 5066 voyages performed by 483 Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) between 44 countries for the period 2013-2015 and estimate the potential for fuel savings if unproductive waiting time at the destination ports can instead be utilized to reduce the average sailing speed. We find that even if only 50% of the estimated waiting time can be avoided, the consequential slow-down in average sailing speeds leads to an average reduction of 422 tonnes of CO2 and 6.7 tonnes of SOx emissions per voyage. Our findings are important for policy making and the optimization of voyage management in shipping companies as they illustrate the substantial savings on fuel costs and emissions from the broad implementation of Virtual Arrival compared to the prevailing first-come first-served berthing policy and the standard charterparty term of sailing with 'utmost dispatch'. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.