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SCHIFFSTECHNIK | SHIP

SCHIFFSTECHNIK | SHIP TECHNOLOGY Cross-fertilization to optimize performance Ship operators and a wide variety of industry stakeholders met at the HullPIC and PortPIC conferences to discuss better ship performance and biofouling management strategies. The event was held in Certosa di Pontignano in Italy and in a hybrid format. By Richard Marioth Certosa di Pontignano is a cloister near Siena, Italy. It is said that a blessed monk had arranged for the church to have, as a relic, a ring received from a mystical marriage. About 600 years later the hull & propeller performance insight conference (HullPIC) and the Port In-Water Cleaning Conference (PortPIC) chose the cloister as their venue. Could the spirit of the mystical marriage be felt? – Not sure, we lack accurate data on this. A typical problem for vessel performance analysts. Actually, it was voted during the conference survey that the challenges due to lack of correct data and good analytical models are bigger for the shipping community than the challenges related to CII and EEXI compliance or the lack of retrofit solutions. The widely perceived challenges in performance monitoring have many reasons. In the first instance there is the measurement side. Crews onboard need to monitor and maintain the sensors regularly. More data scatter occurs on the analysis side when this is not happening, leading to useless results. The validity of publicly available data like AIS data is typically not ensured. Maersk presented an analysis at the conference where a substantial amount (≈20 %) of historical AIS position measurements sent to shore did not reflect reality. In the second instance there is the analysis side. Analytics used stem from two different domains. On the one hand, there are analysis methods from naval architects, physically sound but actually only developed to verify speed & power at the vessel’s design point, not for all the off-design conditions under which the vessels are sailing. Alternatively, there are methods using machine learning, artificial intelligence and general data science. These glorifications of statistics may however ignore physical principles from time to time. Despite these issues, both methods can lead to feasible results and there was wide consensus at the conference that doing performance monitoring is absolutely worth the effort. »There © HANSA are still huge quantification challenges arising from poor data and analysis methods. I see the conference as a great facilitator for knowledge sharing that has and will increase understanding and capabilities in the shipping industry,« said Ditte Gundermann from Hempel. In the wake of the ISO 19030 In fact, intelligent validation and hybrid modelling concepts presented during the conference can partially cope with the challenges. The quality of public available data can be improved substantially by adding several cross-verification layers as described by Angelo Ikonomakis from shipping company Maersk. More and more vendors use data fusion to improve The double-conference was held in a hybrid format data quality and derive cheaper, yet reasonably accurate models. Some of those methods were presented at the conference. Casimir Morobé, who recently founded the start-up Toqua, commented: »The shipping market often seems closed up when one comes from outside. I was surprised that so many people gather at HullPIC to share their knowledge at this level of detail.« The reason for the very collaborative atmosphere of HullPIC might be that it was introduced in the wake of the ISO 19030 development and when the standard was released in 2016, by far not all challenges were solved and the need for cooperation remained. »ISO 19030 has helped us developing, but we now feel that our systems are beyond the standard,« said Ivana Melillo, Fleet Pe- 32 HANSA – International Maritime Journal 01 | 2022

SCHIFFSTECHNIK | SHIP TECHNOLOGY formance Manager, d’Amico Shipping Group. She also pointed out that »Regulations, also local regulations, may require shipping companies to monitor the vessels permanently.« Monitoring might be prescribed by regulations, but it is also increasingly being realized that it helps shipping companies in their business. About 75 % of the participants of the conference survey rated the value of having high-frequency measurements for improvements on the Carbon Intensity Index (CII) to be significant or even very significant. »Still a huge challenge« »The good news is that the adoption of advanced antifouling coatings, better performance monitoring and in-water cleaning standards is on the rise and likely to continue,« said Geir Axel Oftedahl from Jotun, but added a caveat: »Still, biofouling remains a huge challenge which needs to be addressed.« –This is why in 2021 HullPIC did not come alone. »Even the best and most sophisticated monitoring does not save any fuel by itself,« said Volker Bertram, the organizer of the conference. Hence, he chose to combine the conference this year with the Port In- Water Cleaning Conference where the latest advancements in the field of hull and propeller cleaning were discussed and presented. One could observe two trends in this field. First, there are several initiatives which focus on the improvement of the quality of cleaning operations, like the Bimco standard for hull cleaning. Aron Frank Sørensen from the global shipping organisation commented: »The standard shall help ensure that the cleaning process is planned, safe and effective, the environmental impact is controlled, and properties of antifouling systems are preserved, and that approval of in-water cleaners is internationally accepted.« Safety aspects of hull cleaning were addressed during the conference as well. »The international business of Hull Cleaning is a risky business for the life of people. It reminds me of the wild west. We need representatives from the regulating authorities to be more involved in the conference to discuss new developments, standards and actions within the industry to make the business safer and establish a level playing field, commented Alex Noordstrand from Fleet- Cleaner. The other trend is the use of alternative concepts and new technologies which are becoming mature, just like the Jotun Hull Skater presented during the conference. The idea is to monitor biofouling and clean more frequently (proactively). The term »grooming« is often used to describe this way of proactive hull cleaning. Runa Skarbø (Bellona) addressed the need for development of a standard for this type of cleaning operation as well. Proactive cleaning cannot be compared to conventional cleaning operations with capture. »There are many innovations and new solutions coming into the market and there’s a need to share knowledge, insights and act collectively to address the global biofouling issue. And that is why we meet annually for in-depth, technical talks,« stressed Oftedahl. A clear message Sharing knowledge to be stronger together is the core element of HullPIC and Port- PIC. This happens through presentations and the networking during the breaks and in the evenings. The atmosphere was outstanding for this in 2021. The beauty of the historic cloister supported by late Italian summer weather of 25 degrees and sun left any other conference in the field in the shade. Combining the HullPIC and PortPIC turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as the two communities have much potential for »cross-fertilization«. Participants were discussing joint battle plans for the market and scheming together for future possible solutions for nowadays challenges. Some of these topics will likely be presented at HullPIC 2022, to be held in Ireland. What is left for now is a clear message: Hull & propeller performance management and in-water cleaning can improve vessel energy efficiency, reduce carbon intensity and protect the environment. But there is no one solution that fits all. Industry stakeholders, including regulators, port authorities, ship operators and technology providers must work together, share insights, and take action to achieve the optimum. How would you rate the value of having high frequency measurements for CII improvements? Participants were asked for their opinion on technological developments © Marioth HANSA – International Maritime Journal 01 | 2022 33

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