Rising fuel prices in recent years have made propulsion efficiency even more important than before. Paccship (UK) Ltd. is a company that is continuously looking for better ways to reduce fuel costs. When they recently installed the Wärtsilä EnergoProFin propeller cap on one of their cargo vessels, they were immediately able to reduce their fuel consumption. – We have been able to establish clear fuel savings, says Mr. John Wiezniak, General Manager for Paccship.
Paccship UK Ltd. is part of Pacific Carriers Limited (PCL), a company that owns and operates (through subsidiaries) a fleet of dry bulk vessels – ranging from Handysize to Capesize – that can transport all types of dry bulk cargo worldwide. PCL is part of Kuok (Singapore) Limited, an investment holding company with interests in maritime activities, agri-solutions, property and equity investments. The MV Pac Alkaid, built 2003, is a single screw, self-sustaining, multi-purpose conbulk vessel. She is 179 metres long with a breadth of 27 metres and a gross tonnage of 20,471. The vessel is fully fitted for the carriage of palletized natural rubber, steel containers, grain or other cargoes in bulk as well as other unitized general cargoes in bags, bulk, breakbulk etc. – Pac Alkaid predominantly operates between the Far East and the USA on a semi liner trade, where a round trip lasts about 4 months, says Mr. Wiezniak.
A product that saves money, naturally also supports the business. We believe that EnergoProFin does just that.
Wärtsilä EnergoProFin provides proven economic benefits The energy losses of a propeller are related, among other things, to flow phenomena around and behind the propeller boss. Installing the Wärtsilä EnergoProFin (WEPF) can increase the overall propulsion efficiency by weakening the propellerhub vortex behind the propeller, resulting in savings up to 5%, which means a short payback time for seagoing vessels. According to Mr. Wiezniak, Paccship also considered other alternatives before installing the WEPF. – The company fitted and tested a number of different products in order to achieve economical running costs among which the Wärtsilä EnergoProFin was one.
The WEPF is designed for vessels with both fixed pitch propellers (FPP) and controllable pitch propellers (CPP). It is suitable for all new builds and existing vessels regardless of propeller make. The WEPF was fitted when Pac Alkaid was in dry dock. The installation was carried out smoothly and took about 2 days to complete. – The only challenge we had was to ensure that the yard drilled the hub correctly and to explain why it was necessary to follow the instructions to the letter, says Mr. Wiezniak.
Paccship’s experiences with the WEPF solution delivered by Wärtsilä are very positive. – From data taken over a period of 2 years, we can see lower fuel consumption, when compared to the two sister vessels operating on the same route, states Mr. Wiezniak. Paccship and Wärtsilä have been working in close cooperation since installing the product to discover what fuel savings can be achieved. – Wärtsilä has provided their resources to carry out checks on the data we have provided. According to Mr. Wiezniak, Paccship will continue its cooperation with Wärtsilä. – I would like to highlight three factors that support this: determination of energy savings, energy saving verification, as well as product feedback and possible improvement. A product that saves our company money, naturally also supports the company’s business. We believe that Wärtsilä EnergoProFin does just that. Paccship will look at equipping more vessels with Wärtsilä EnergoProFin, as the financial situation requires it. – We recommend ship owners that are serious about finding ways to improve their shipping economy to consider Wärtsilä EnergoProFin as part of their energy reduction plan, concludes Mr. John Wiezniak.
