WO2023090994A1

WO2023090994A1 - Methods and systems for estimating fuel consumption of a vessel

Info

Publication number: WO2023090994A1
Application number: PCT/MY2022/050114
Authority: WO
Inventors: Zeze Hasri Bin HASHIM; Faryanti Binti ZALANI; Eng Hoe YAP; Manisha Prasad; Letchumi SABAPATHY; Sathish Kumar KUTTIYAPPAN
Original assignee: Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas)
Priority date: 2021-11-19
Filing date: 2022-11-18
Publication date: 2023-05-25

Abstract

Methods and systems for estimating fuel consumption of a vessel are disclosed. A method of estimating fuel consumption of a vessel comprises: receiving vessel report data comprising logged activity data indicating a plurality of logged activities for the vessel over a time period and a time associated with each logged activity; receiving vessel tracking data corresponding to the time period, the vessel tracking data comprising vessel location data, vessel speed data and timestamp data; matching timestamp data from the vessel tracking data with times associated with the logged activities and thereby generating matched activity data comprising vessel location data and vessel speed data associated with each logged activity; processing the matched activity data to generate adjusted activity data using, for each logged activity, the vessel location data and / or the vessel speed data associated that logged activity; and calculating an estimated fuel consumption of the vessel over the time period using the adjusted activity data.

Description

METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR ESTIMATING FUEL CONSUMPTION OF A

VESSEL

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to data processing to estimate fuel consumption of a marine vessel.

BACKGROUND

The accurate estimation of fuel consumption of marine vessels poses a number of challenges. Fuel consumption of a vessel can depend on a number of factors including the machinery in operation on the vessel and the actual speed of the vessel. Much of the log recording for marine vessels involves manually inputting the activities which the vessel carries out, but this logging may not capture the actual speed of the vessel. In addition, such logging may include human errors in the data input.

SUMMARY

According to a first aspect of the present disclosure a method of estimating fuel consumption of a vessel is provided. The method comprises: receiving vessel report data comprising logged activity data indicating a plurality of logged activities for the vessel over a time period and a time associated with each logged activity; receiving vessel tracking data corresponding to the time period, the vessel tracking data comprising vessel location data, vessel speed data and timestamp data; matching timestamp data from the vessel tracking data with times associated with the logged activities and thereby generating matched activity data comprising vessel location data and vessel speed data associated with each logged activity; processing the matched activity data to generate adjusted activity data using, for each logged activity, the vessel location data and I or the vessel speed data associated that logged activity; and calculating an estimated fuel consumption of the vessel over the time period using the adjusted activity data. In an embodiment, processing the matched activity data to generate adjusted activity data comprises using a fuel speed curve for the vessel and the vessel speed data to determine a fuel consumption for the vessel corresponding to the actual speed of the vessel.

In an embodiment, the method further comprises calculating the fuel speed curve for the vessel from fuel consumption data for the engine of the vessel.

In an embodiment, processing the matched activity data to generate adjusted activity data comprises determining a location type for the location of the vessel during the activity and generating the adjusted activity based on the location type.

In an embodiment, determining a location type for the location of the vessel comprises accessing location mapping data to determine a mapped location within a threshold distance of the location of the vessel and determining the location type from the mapped location.

In an embodiment, processing the matched activity data to generate adjusted activity data comprises determining a speed of the vessel during the activity and generating the adjusted activity based on the speed of the vessel.

In an embodiment, calculating an estimated fuel consumption of the vessel over the time period using the adjusted activity data comprises taking into account a load factor for the vessel.

According to a second aspect of the present disclosure a computer readable medium storing processor executable instructions which when executed on a processor cause the processor to carry out a method as set out above is provided.

According to a third aspect of the present disclosure a system for estimating fuel consumption of a vessel is provided. The system comprises a processor and a data storage device storing computer program instructions operable to cause the processor to: receive vessel report data comprising logged activity data indicating a plurality of logged activities for the vessel over a time period and a time associated with each logged activity; receive vessel tracking data corresponding to the time period, the vessel tracking data comprising vessel location data, vessel speed data and timestamp data; match timestamp data from the vessel tracking data with times associated with the logged activities and thereby generating matched activity data comprising vessel location data and vessel speed data associated with each logged activity; process the matched activity data to generate adjusted activity data using, for each logged activity, the vessel location data and / or the vessel speed data associated that logged activity; and calculate an estimated fuel consumption of the vessel over the time period using the adjusted activity data.

In an embodiment, the data storage device further stores computer program instructions operable to cause the processor to: process the matched activity data to generate adjusted activity data using a fuel speed curve for the vessel and the vessel speed data to determine a fuel consumption for the vessel corresponding to the actual speed of the vessel.

In an embodiment, the data storage device further stores computer program instructions operable to cause the processor to: calculate the fuel speed curve for the vessel from fuel consumption data for the engine of the vessel.

In an embodiment, the data storage device further stores computer program instructions operable to cause the processor to: process the matched activity data to generate adjusted activity data by determining a location type for the location of the vessel during the activity and generating the adjusted activity based on the location type.

In an embodiment, the data storage device further stores computer program instructions operable to cause the processor to: process the matched activity data to generate adjusted activity data by determining a speed of the vessel during the activity and generating the adjusted activity based on the speed of the vessel.

In an embodiment, the data storage device further stores computer program instructions operable to cause the processor to: calculate the estimated fuel consumption of the vessel over the time period using the adjusted activity data taking into account a load factor for the vessel.

Further embodiments of the present invention are set out in the following clauses:

1 . A method of estimating fuel consumption of a vessel, the method comprising: receiving vessel report data comprising logged activity data indicating a plurality of logged activities for the vessel over a time period and a time associated with each logged activity; receiving vessel tracking data corresponding to the time period, the vessel tracking data comprising vessel location data, vessel speed data and timestamp data; matching timestamp data from the vessel tracking data with times associated with the logged activities and thereby generating matched activity data comprising vessel location data and vessel speed data associated with each logged activity; processing the matched activity data to generate adjusted activity data using, for each logged activity, the vessel location data and / or the vessel speed data associated that logged activity; and calculating an estimated fuel consumption of the vessel over the time period using the adjusted activity data.

2. A method according to clause 1 , wherein processing the matched activity data to generate adjusted activity data comprises using a fuel speed curve for the vessel and the vessel speed data to determine a fuel consumption for the vessel corresponding to the actual speed of the vessel.

3. A method according to clause 2, further comprising calculating the fuel speed curve for the vessel from fuel consumption data for the engine of the vessel. 4. A method according to any preceding clause, wherein processing the matched activity data to generate adjusted activity data comprises determining a location type for the location of the vessel during the activity and generating the adjusted activity based on the location type.

5. A method according to clause 4, wherein determining a location type for the location of the vessel comprises accessing location mapping data to determine a mapped location within a threshold distance of the location of the vessel and determining the location type from the mapped location.

6. A method according to any preceding clause, wherein processing the matched activity data to generate adjusted activity data comprises determining a speed of the vessel during the activity and generating the adjusted activity based on the speed of the vessel.

7. A method according to any preceding clause wherein calculating an estimated fuel consumption of the vessel over the time period using the adjusted activity data comprises taking into account a load factor for the vessel.

8. A computer readable medium storing processor executable instructions which when executed on a processor cause the processor to carry out a method according to any one of clauses 1 to 7.

9. A system for estimating fuel consumption of a vessel, the system comprising a processor and a data storage device storing computer program instructions operable to cause the processor to: receive vessel report data comprising logged activity data indicating a plurality of logged activities for the vessel over a time period and a time associated with each logged activity; receive vessel tracking data corresponding to the time period, the vessel tracking data comprising vessel location data, vessel speed data and timestamp data; match timestamp data from the vessel tracking data with times associated with the logged activities and thereby generating matched activity data comprising vessel location data and vessel speed data associated with each logged activity; process the matched activity data to generate adjusted activity data using, for each logged activity, the vessel location data and / or the vessel speed data associated that logged activity; and calculate an estimated fuel consumption of the vessel over the time period using the adjusted activity data.

10. A system according to clause 9, wherein the data storage device further stores computer program instructions operable to cause the processor to: process the matched activity data to generate adjusted activity data using a fuel speed curve for the vessel and the vessel speed data to determine a fuel consumption for the vessel corresponding to the actual speed of the vessel.

11. A system according to clause 10, wherein the data storage device further stores computer program instructions operable to cause the processor to: calculate the fuel speed curve for the vessel from fuel consumption data for the engine of the vessel.

12. A system according to any one of clauses 9 to 11 , wherein the data storage device further stores computer program instructions operable to cause the processor to: process the matched activity data to generate adjusted activity data by determining a location type for the location of the vessel during the activity and generating the adjusted activity based on the location type.

13. A system according to clause 12, wherein determining a location type for the location of the vessel comprises accessing location mapping data to determine a mapped location within a threshold distance of the location of the vessel and determining the location type from the mapped location.

14. A system according to any one of clauses 9 to 13, wherein the data storage device further stores computer program instructions operable to cause the processor to: process the matched activity data to generate adjusted activity data by determining a speed of the vessel during the activity and generating the adjusted activity based on the speed of the vessel. 15. A system according to any one of clauses 9 to 14, wherein the data storage device further stores computer program instructions operable to cause the processor to: calculate the estimated fuel consumption of the vessel over the time period using the adjusted activity data taking into account a load factor for the vessel.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the following, embodiments of the present invention will be described as non-limiting examples with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG.1 is a block diagram showing an overview of estimating fuel consumption of a vessel in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG.2 is a block diagram showing a vessel fuel consumption estimation system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG.3 is a flowchart showing a method of estimating fuel consumption of a vessel according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG.4 is a flow chart showing a method of estimating fuel consumption of a vessel which includes generating a fuel speed curve for the vessel according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG.5A is a table showing example engine manufacturer fuel consumption data for a vessel;

FIG.5B shows a fuel-speed curve for a vessel;

FIG.6 is a table showing example vessel owner activity fuel consumption data;

FIG.7 is a table showing adjustment of vessel activity according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.8 is a flow chart showing a method of adjusting vessel activity data for a nonmaterial vessel according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG.9 is a flow chart showing a method of adjusting vessel activity data for a material vessel according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure relates to the estimation of fuel consumption of a marine vessel. FIG.1 is a block diagram showing an overview of estimating fuel consumption of a vessel in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG.1 , the fuel consumption of a vessel 10 which performs various activities is estimated. Vessel report data 20 is generated by the operator of the vessel. The vessel report data comprises logged activity data which comprises indications of logged activities performed by the vessel over a time period and a time associated with each logged activity. The vessel report data be manually input by a member of the crew of the vessel to report daily activities, machinery status, vessel crew, persons or passengers onboard the vessel, and indications any cargo carried by the vessel.

The location and speed of the vessel 10 is tracked by a tracking system comprising a satellite 30 which in combination with a tracking device installed on the vessel 10 generates vessel tracking data 40.

The vessel report data 20 and the vessel tracking data 40 are used by a vessel fuel consumption estimation system 100 to generate an estimated fuel consumption 50 for the vessel. The estimated fuel consumption 50 indicates an estimate of the fuel consumed by the vessel over a time period.

FIG.2 shows a vessel fuel consumption estimation system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The vessel fuel consumption estimation 100 is a computer system with memory that stores computer program modules which implement vessel fuel consumption estimation methods according to embodiments of the present invention. The vessel fuel consumption estimation system 100 comprises a processor 110, a working memory 112, a network interface 114, a user interface 116, an output interface 118, program storage 120 and data storage 130. The processor 110 may be implemented as one or more central processing unit (CPU) chips. The program storage 120 is a non-volatile storage device such as a hard disk drive which stores computer program modules. The computer program modules are loaded into the working memory 112 for execution by the processor 110. The network interface is an interface which allows data, including the vessel report data 20 and the vessel tracking data 40 to be received by the vessel fuel consumption estimation system 100. The network interface 114 may be a wireless network interface such as a Wi-Fi or Bluetooth interface, alternatively it may be a wired interface. The user interface 116 allows a user of the vessel fuel consumption estimation system 100 to input selections and commands and may be implemented as a graphical user interface. The output interface 118 outputs indications of estimated fuel consumption for the vessel.

The program storage 120 stores a data matching module 122, a vessel activity adjustment module 124, a fuel-speed curve generation module 126 and a fuel consumption estimation module 128. The computer program modules cause the processor 110 to execute various localization processing which is described in more detail below. The program storage 120 may be referred to in some contexts as computer readable storage media and/or non-transitory computer readable media. As depicted in FIG.2, the computer program modules are distinct modules which perform respective functions implemented by the vessel fuel consumption estimation system 100. It will be appreciated that the boundaries between these modules are exemplary only, and that alternative embodiments may merge modules or impose an alternative decomposition of functionality of modules. For example, the modules discussed herein may be decomposed into sub-modules to be executed as multiple computer processes, and, optionally, on multiple computers. Moreover, alternative embodiments may combine multiple instances of a particular module or sub-module. It will also be appreciated that, while a software implementation of the computer program modules is described herein, these may alternatively be implemented as one or more hardware modules (such as field-programmable gate array(s) or application-specific integrated circuit(s)) comprising circuitry which implements equivalent functionality to that implemented in software.

Although the vessel fuel consumption estimation system 100 is described with reference to a computer, it should be appreciated that the alternator monitoring system 100 may be formed by two or more computers in communication with each other that collaborate to perform a task. For example, but not by way of limitation, an application may be partitioned in such a way as to permit concurrent and/or parallel processing of the instructions of the application. Alternatively, the data processed by the application may be partitioned in such a way as to permit concurrent and/or parallel processing of different portions of a data set by the two or more computers. In an embodiment, virtualization software may be employed by the vessel fuel consumption estimation system 100 to provide the functionality of a number of servers that is not directly bound to the number of computers in the vessel fuel consumption estimation system 100. In an embodiment, the functionality disclosed above may be provided by executing the application and/or applications in a cloud computing environment. Cloud computing may comprise providing computing services via a network connection using dynamically scalable computing resources. A cloud computing environment may be established by an enterprise and/or may be hired on an as-needed basis from a third party provider.

The data storage 130 stores vessel owner activity fuel consumption data 132, engine manufacturer fuel consumption data 134, location mapping data 136, and fuel-speed curve data 138. The vessel owner activity fuel consumption data 132 indicates fuel consumption for various activities carried out by the vessel and is provided by the vessel owner. An example of the vessel owner activity fuel consumption data 132 is described below with reference to FIG.6. The engine manufacturer fuel consumption data 134 indicates fuel consumption for the engine of the vessel at different levels of operation, for example at different percentages of the MGR (maximum continuous rating) of the vessel. An example of the engine manufacturer fuel consumption data 134 is described below with reference to FIG.5A. The location mapping data 136 provides indications of relevant locations such as jetties, oil rigs and other facilities. The location mapping data 136 may provide an indication of the location type of such locations together with an indication of the coordinates of the location. The fuel-speed curve data 138 indicates a fuel consumption for the vessel at different speeds. An example of a fuel speed curve is described below with reference to FIG.5B. While FIG.2 shows the data storage 130 as part of the vessel fuel consumption system 100, it is anticipated that some of the data may be stored externally and accessed when required, thus parts of the data storage 130 may be implemented as external databases or servers which provide the required data when required. In some embodiments the data is sourced externally, but stored internally such that the data is available locally when the processing is executed.

FIG.3 is a flowchart showing a method of estimating fuel consumption of a vessel according to an embodiment of the present invention. The method 300 shown in FIG.3 is carried out by the vessel fuel consumption estimation system 100 shown in FIG.2.

In step 302, the vessel fuel consumption estimation system 100 receives vessel report data. The vessel report data is received by the network interface 114 of the vessel fuel consumption estimation system 100. The vessel report data comprises logged vessel activity data which indicates a plurality of logged activities for the vessel over a time period. Each logged activity has a time associated with it in the vessel activity data.

In step 304, the vessel fuel consumption estimation system 100 receives vessel tracking data. The vessel tracking data is received by the network interface 114 of the vessel fuel consumption estimation system 100. The vessel tracking data comprises vessel location data, vessel speed data, and time stamp data indicating the time at which the vessel location data and the vessel speed data was captured. The vessel tracking data received in step 304 may correspond to the time period, for example a day which corresponds to the vessel report data.

In step 306, the data matching module 122 is executed by the processor 110 of the vessel fuel consumption estimation system 100 to generate matched activity data from the vessel report data and the vessel tracking data. In step 306, the time stamp data from the vessel tracking data is matched with the times indicated in the vessel report data to determine locations of the vessel and speeds of the vessel corresponding to the logged activities in the vessel report data. In order to identify the location of the vessel for specific activities at a particular location such as an off-shore platform, step 306 may comprise comparing coordinates identified in the vessel tracking data with the location mapping data 136 stored in the data storage 130 of the vessel fuel consumption estimation system 100. In order to match the location of the vessel with a stored location in the location mapping data 136, if the vessel location falls within a threshold distance, for example within a 500m zone of the location stored in the location mapping data 136, then the vessel is considered to be at that location at that particular moment of time. The matched activity data may comprise indications of vessel activities from the vessel report data and indications of locations determined as set out above, and indications of the speed of the vessel from the vessel tracking data.

In step 308, the vessel activity adjustment module 124 is executed by the processor 110 of the vessel fuel consumption estimation system 100 to generate adjusted activity data. The adjusted activity data allows the fuel consumption of each activity to be accurately estimated. In step 308, the locations and I or the speeds associated with the vessel activities are used to confirm or to adjust the activities listed in the vessel report data. The nature of the adjustments carried out in step 308 depend on the type of activity. For example, for activities that take place at or close to a specific location, the location determined in step 306 may be used to determine the fuel consumption of the vessel. For activities where the vessel is in motion, the speed determined in step 306 may be used in combination with a fuel-speed curve for the vessel to determine an accurate estimate of the fuel consumption of the vessel using the actual speed of the vessel from the vessel tracking data. The fuel speed curve data 138 stored in the data storage 130 of the vessel fuel consumption estimation system 100 may thus be used in step 308.

In step 310, the fuel consumption estimation module 128 is executed by the processor 110 of the vessel fuel consumption estimation system 100 to calculate an estimated fuel consumption for the vessel over the time period. In step 310, the fuel consumption estimation module 310 calculates the fuel consumption for each activity and then determines the total fuel consumption for the vessel by summing the fuel consumption for each activity. Following the estimation of the fuel consumption of the vessel in step 310, the calculated estimate of the fuel consumption of the vessel may be output by the output interface 118 of the vessel fuel consumption estimation system 100. The method may additionally involve generating a fuel speed curve for the vessel. A flow chart showing such a method is shown in FIG.4.

FIG.4 is a flow chart showing a method of estimating fuel consumption of a vessel which includes generating a fuel speed curve for the vessel according to an embodiment of the present invention. The method 400 shown in FIG.4 is carried out by the vessel fuel consumption estimation system 100 shown in FIG.2.

In step 402, the fuel-speed curve generation module 126 is executed by the processor 110 of the vessel fuel consumption estimation system 100 to generate a fuel speed curve for the vessel. Step 402 comprises using engine manufacturer fuel consumption data 134 stored in the data storage 130 to generate the fuel speed curve for the vessel. An example of engine manufacturer fuel consumption data is shown in FIG.5A.

FIG.5A is a table showing example engine manufacturer fuel consumption data for a vessel used in embodiments of the present invention. As shown in FIG.5A, the engine manufacturer fuel consumption data comprises indications of the fuel consumption of the engine of the vessel at different percentages of the MGR (maximum continuous rating) of the vessel. The table shown in FIG.5A shows the fuel consumption in litre/hour at 100% MGR, 85% MGR and 25% MGR. The data shown in FIG.5A is used to generate the fuel-speed curve for the vessel.

FIG.5B shows the fuel-speed curve for the vessel. The fuel-speed curve 520 shown in FIG.5B is generated from the engine manufacturer fuel consumption data 510 shown in FIG.5A. The curve 520 is generated by plotting the fuel consumption at speeds corresponding to 25% MGR fuel consumption 522, 25% MGR fuel consumption 524 and 100% MGR fuel consumption 526. In order to prepare the curve, the speed at 25% MGR is set at Zero: fuel consumption when engine is running but vessel not moving. Speed at 85% and 100% MGR are based on sea-trial report. When the vessel is running at 85% MGR, what is the speed (this is usually considered as economical speed). At 100% MGR, that is the maximum speed of the vessel. As will be described in more detail below, the fuel speed curve allows an accurate estimation of the fuel consumption of the vessel using the speed from the vessel tracking data. Returning now to FIG.4, the fuel-speed curve 520 generated in step 402 is stored in the data storage 130 of the vessel fuel consumption estimation system 100 as fuelspeed curve data 138.

The method then proceeds to step 404 in which fuel consumption is estimated for the vessel. Step 404 corresponds to the method 300 shown in FIG.3 as described above.

FIG.6 is a table showing example vessel owner activity fuel consumption data. The table 600 shown in FIG.6 shows fuel consumption in Litre/hour for various activities as provided by the vessel owner. The data shown in the table 600 is stored in the data storage 130 of the vessel fuel consumption estimation system 100 as vessel owner activity fuel consumption data 132. It is noted that the data shown the table 600 provides only a single value for activities such as “Cargo Works I Passenger Transfer” and “Inter Rig” in which the vessel is travelling between locations. For such activities a more accurate estimate of the fuel consumption of the vessel can be obtained using the speed-fuel curve for the vessel in combination with the speed obtained from the vessel tracking data.

FIG.7 is a table showing adjustment of vessel activity according to an embodiment of the present invention. The table in FIG.7 shows activity names which are may be selected by a vessel operator when inputting the vessel log data. For each activity name, a definition of the activity is shown in the second column of the table. The third column of the table shows the assumed machinery in operation during the activity. The final column shows the adjusted activity data. This final column shows the adjusted activity data that may be generated in step 308 of the method 300 shown in FIG.3. As shown in the table in FIG.7, the adjusted activity data may include changing the machinery such as generators and thrusters assumed to be in operation and may also include using the fuel-speed curve to determine the fuel consumption. For the activities “Stand by - close” and “Stand by - normal”, generally the fuel consumption is expected to be less than activities which have motion, such as Enroute Eco speed (85% MCR). Since standby activities are stationary, the main engine fuel consumption should not be higher than other moving activities. Therefore, the main engine fuel consumption is adjusted to 50%. Step 308 may comprise checking the speed and location of the vessel at timestamps to verify if the vessel activities stated in the vessel report data correctly correspond to the vessel tracking data. Activities in the vessel report data that do not match may be adjusted accordingly according to a set of rules. FIG.8 and FIG.9 show examples of the process flow to apply such rules. FIG.8 shows to a method for a non-material vessel, that is a vessel that does not carry cargo and FIG.9 shows to a method for a material vessel, that is a vessel that carries cargo.

FIG.8 is a flow chart showing a method of adjusting vessel activity data for a nonmaterial vessel according to an embodiment of the present invention. The method 800 shown in FIG.8 is carried out by the vessel activity adjustment module 126 when executed by the processor 110 of the vessel fuel consumption estimation system 100 as part of step 308 of the method 300 shown in FIG.3.

In step 802 it is determined whether the logged activity is “Anchorage” or Tied up “Mooring Buoy” or “Jetty”, or if the speed from the vessel tracking data matched with the logged activity is greater than or equal to 2 knots. If the answer is YES, then the method moves to step 804 in which the vessel activity type remains as “Anchorage” or Tied up “Mooring Buoy” or “Jetty”. If the answer is NO, then the method moves to step 806 in which it is determined whether the Location type is “Berth/Terminal” or “Mooring Buoy”. The location type is determined from the location indicated by the vessel tracking data using the location mapping data 136 stored in the data storage 130 of the vessel fuel consumption estimation tracking system 100. The location type is identified by determining whether there is a mapped location within a threshold distance (for example 500m) of the location of the vessel indicated by the location mapping data 136.

If the location type identified is “Berth/Terminal” or “Mooring Buoy” in step 806, which corresponds to a mapped location of a berth/terminal or mooring buoy being within 500m of the vessel location, then the method moves to step 808 in which the vessel activity type is changed to “generator only”. If the location type is not identified as “Berth/Terminal” or “Mooring Buoy” in step 806, then the method moves to step 810 in which the vessel activity type is changed to “Standby - Normal”. Following step 804, step 808 or step 810, the method ends.

FIG.9 is a flow chart showing a method of adjusting vessel activity data for a material vessel according to an embodiment of the present invention. The method 900 shown in FIG.9 is carried out by the vessel activity adjustment module 126 when executed by the processor 110 of the vessel fuel consumption estimation system 100 as part of step 308 of the method 300 shown in FIG.3.

In step 902 it is determined if the vessel type is “Cargo Works I Passenger Transfer”. If not, the method moves to step 904 in which it is determined if the speed is greater than or equal to 2 knots or the vessel activity is “Anchorage” or Tied up “Mooring Buoy” or “Jetty”. If yes, then the method moves to step 906 and the vessel activity type remains as “Cargo Works I Passenger Transfer”. If no, then the method moves to step 908 in which it is determined if the location type is “Berth/Terminal”. As described above with reference to FIG.8, the location type is determined from the location indicated by the vessel tracking data using the location mapping data 136 stored in the data storage 130 of the vessel fuel consumption estimation tracking system 100. The location type is identified by determining whether there is a mapped location within a threshold distance (for example 500m) of the location of the vessel indicated by the location mapping data 136. If the location type is berth/terminal, the method moves to step 910 in which the vessel activity type is changed to “Jetty”. If not, the method moves to step 914.

If in step 902, it is determined that the vessel type is “Cargo Works I Passenger Transfer”, then the method moves to step 912 in which it is determined if the location type is “Berth/Terminal”. If the location type is berth/terminal, the method moves to step 916 in which the vessel activity type is changed to “Jetty”. If not, the method moves to step 918.

In step 914, it is determined if Location type is “Mooring Buoy” and Vessel type is “LCT”. If yes, then the method moves to step 920 in which the vessel activity type is changed to “Tied Up Mooring Buoy”. If no, then the method moves to step 922. In step 918, it is determined if the speed is less than 1 knot. If yes, then the method moves to step 924 in which the vessel activity type is changed to “Cargo works/passenger transfer”. If no, then the method moves to step 926 in which the vessel activity type is changed to “Enroute Eco speed (85%MCR)”.

In step 922, it is determined if the location type is “Production Platform” or “Jack-up” or “T ender Barge”. If no, then the method moves to step 928 in which the vessel activity type is changed to “Standby - Normal”. If yes, then the method moves to step 930 in which the vessel activity type is changed to “Standby - Close”.

Following step 906, step 910, step 916, step 920, step 924, step 926, step 928 or step 930 the method ends.

After all of the vessel activities have been adjusted and corrected, in step 310 of the method 300 shown in FIG.3, the estimated fuel consumption for the vessel is calculated using the following procedure.

If the vessel activity type is “Enroute Eco Speed (85% MCR)” or “Enroute Full Speed (100% MCR)” or “Inter-Rig”, then the following formula is used as for the speed activity fuel consumption per hour, y: y = a + be^cx where a and b are constants, c is a constant from the fuel speed curve, e is the exponential and x is the actual operating speed.

If the vessel activity type is “Shifting” or “Cargo Works/Passenger Transfer”, then the activity fuel consumption is calculated as three parts.

Part A: the above formula y = a + be^cx is used.

Part B: the generator only fuel consumption is used.

Part C: the thruster fuel consumption is used.

The total fuel consumption is the sum of Part A + Part B + Part C. If the vessel activity type is not “Enroute Eco Speed (85% MCR)” or “Enroute Full Speed (100% MCR)” or “Inter-Rig or is “Shifting” or “Cargo Works/Passenger Transfer”, then the total speed activity vessel fuel consumption is calculated as the sum of the following: (number of main engines used in activity) x (fuel consumption per hour of a main engine) + (number of auxiliary engines used in activity) x (fuel consumption per hour of an auxiliary engine) + (number of thruster engines used in activity) x (fuel consumption per hour of a thruster engine).

For non-material vessels, the total fuel consumption for each activity is calculated from the fuel consumption per hour for that activity multiplied by the time in hours that the activity was carried out for. Then the total fuel consumption for the period is calculated from the sum over all activities carried out over the period.

For material vessels, the cargo load is used to apply a correction factor for each speed activity. The correction factor is applied by the following formula:

Where FC_c is the fuel consumption with cargo, FC₀ is the fuel consumption without cargo, D_c is the displacement with cargo, D_o is the displacement without cargo.

Where LwT is the Lightweight of the vessel, DwT is the Dead Weigh tonnage of the vessel and MCL is the maximum cargo load.

Whilst the foregoing description has described exemplary embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that many variations of the embodiments can be made within the scope and spirit of the present invention.

Claims

2. A method according to claim 1 , wherein processing the matched activity data to generate adjusted activity data comprises using a fuel speed curve for the vessel and the vessel speed data to determine a fuel consumption for the vessel corresponding to the actual speed of the vessel.

3. A method according to claim 2, further comprising calculating the fuel speed curve for the vessel from fuel consumption data for the engine of the vessel.

4. A method according to claim 1 , wherein processing the matched activity data to generate adjusted activity data comprises determining a location type for the location of the vessel during the activity and generating the adjusted activity based on the location type.

5. A method according to claim 4, wherein determining a location type for the location of the vessel comprises accessing location mapping data to determine a mapped location within a threshold distance of the location of the vessel and determining the location type from the mapped location.

6. A method according to claim 1 , wherein processing the matched activity data to generate adjusted activity data comprises determining a speed of the vessel during the activity and generating the adjusted activity based on the speed of the vessel.

7. A method according to claim 1 , wherein calculating an estimated fuel consumption of the vessel over the time period using the adjusted activity data comprises taking into account a load factor for the vessel.

8. A computer readable medium storing processor executable instructions which when executed on a processor cause the processor to carry out a method according to claim 1.

10. A system according to claim 9, wherein the data storage device further stores computer program instructions operable to cause the processor to: process the matched activity data to generate adjusted activity data using a fuel speed curve for the vessel and the vessel speed data to determine a fuel consumption for the vessel corresponding to the actual speed of the vessel.

11. A system according to claim 10, wherein the data storage device further stores computer program instructions operable to cause the processor to: calculate the fuel speed curve for the vessel from fuel consumption data for the engine of the vessel.

12. A system according to claim 9, wherein the data storage device further stores computer program instructions operable to cause the processor to: process the matched activity data to generate adjusted activity data by determining a location type for the location of the vessel during the activity and generating the adjusted activity based on the location type.

13. A system according to claim 12, wherein determining a location type for the location of the vessel comprises accessing location mapping data to determine a mapped location within a threshold distance of the location of the vessel and determining the location type from the mapped location.

14. A system according to claim 9, wherein the data storage device further stores computer program instructions operable to cause the processor to: process the matched activity data to generate adjusted activity data by determining a speed of the vessel during the activity and generating the adjusted activity based on the speed of the vessel.

15. A system according to claim 9, wherein the data storage device further stores computer program instructions operable to cause the processor to: calculate the estimated fuel consumption of the vessel over the time period using the adjusted activity data taking into account a load factor for the vessel.