Maersk Tanker Fleet on Fuel-saving Retrofit Crusade

Maersk Tankers plan to spend up to $35m as it pushes ahead with a fuel saving retrofit programme.

One of the company's "I-class" VLCCs is being fitted with fuel saving devices, iincluding Becker Mewis propeller ducts and propeller boss cap fins on a range of owned tankers. The programme includes screening and retrofitting around 70 tankers over the next two to three years, reports Carbon Positive.

The company's drive to raise fuel efficiency will focus on as many as 35 separate measures, which will all potentially contribute to fuel savings across the fleet.

The company believes that retrofitted tonnage could yield fuel savings of as much as 8-10%. Company naval architects will carefully assess each class of vessel in the company's fleet and specialists from the group's technology firm, Maersk Maritime Technology, to determine which retrofits would be the most effective.

Maersk's view is that existing vessels can give fuel savings of between 8 – 10% at a relatively low cost, rather than ordering new ships against the current backdrop of substantial overcapacity. Cutting fuel consumption by 8% would translate into savings of around $8,000 a day, or $30 million per year, for each VLCC.

Source: Carbon Positive