Tool for Environmental

Efficient Ship Design

H. Ellingsen, Dr.Ing.

Dept. of Marine Technology Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway

A. M. Fet, Dr.Ing.

Dept. of Industrial Economics and Technology Management Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway

S. Aanondsen, M.Sc.

Dept. for Fisheries Technology SINTEF Fisheries and Aquaculture, Norway

ENSUS 2002, Newcastle, UK, December 16.2002

SYNOPSIS

Energy consumption and related emissions are the most important environmental effects of transport. This applies to all transport modes even though the contribution from waterborne transport in general is less severe than for instance from road transport. Also the environmental effects from waterborne traffic can be substantially reduced, but this will depend on, among other, better design methodologies and tools. Use of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) in the ship design process may help the designer to optimise a project concerning energy use over its entire life span. As part of “The Energy Efficient Ship”-project funded by the European Commission and a number of small and medium sized enterprises, a prototype ship design tool is developed. The purpose of the tool is to assist the designer in reducing not only the energy consumption during the entire life span of a ship, but also important environmental aspects. The tool is developed for design of fast ferries, containerships and fishing vessels. The paper presents the computer model including a case study demonstrating its use in design of a long lining fishing vessel. Environmental effects of alternative conceptual choices in the design phase will be demonstrated.

INTRODUCTION Severe, human-induced climatic change is possibly the largest environmentally related challenge the world has ever faced. People have during the last decade grown more and more sensitive to this issue and a stronger focus has been set on producing goods in an environmentally friendly way. There is also a tendency to go from reactive reparation to preventive measures when ensuring a future healthy environment. Several studies have identified general trends in the society in the direction of increased focus on environmental issues and expected increased requirements for environmental performance information from industrial activities 1. This is also expected to be of increasing importance for the shipping industry. Commercial fishing today is totally dependent on energy-intensive technology. Energy usage constitutes an important threat to the sustainability of fishing as a food producing industry 2. At the Author’s Biography Harald Ellingsen is a post doctor scholarship holder at NTNU within LCA methods applied in fisheries Annik Magerholm Fet is professor in environmental life cycle management at NTNU and is MSc in physics. Svein Aanondsen is a research scientist at SINTEF; he is a naval architect of profession.

same time, it has been noticed that the market is paying more attention to the way in which fish are being caught. In the western world in particular, a tendency has been observed for consumers to make stricter demands of their food sources, including fish products. Consumers are more demanding not only with respect to fish as food but also to the ways in which it is brought to them. Consumers are becoming more and more conscious of such concepts as sustainability. These are global trends, which are reinforced by the growing power of both the retail sector and the media, both of which interpret and reinforce consumer perceptions. As far as the major retail chains in Europe are concerned, it is, or at least is perceived as, a competitive advantage to promote the cause of the consumers 3 . As an outcome of such pressure, methods for environmental friendly product development have been introduced. These contribute to minimise the total environmental impact during the life cycle of the product. The fishing vessel of the future must be based upon a new concept of functionality. Such a concept ought to embrace areas such as the total utilisation of raw materials, the processing of byproducts, reduced, or ideally zero emissions, market based production onboard or ashore, the use of new information technology and the appropriation of new logistic solutions in a value chain perspective.

THE LIFE CYCLE CONCEPT

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is increasingly used for assessing the environmental impacts of technologies and products. LCA is generally accepted as a suitable tool for analysing the impact that different solutions have on their external environment throughout the duration of their lifetime. LCA is a structured and standardised method for calculating a product, a process or an activity’s environmental load throughout all its phases. That is to say, from the extraction of raw material through production, distribution, use and to recycling and the treatment of waste. This method was first developed for the environmental assessment of industrial products in the 1960’s 4. Since then it has been improved considerably and is today standardised in the ISO 14040- standards 5 . Such tools are developed in light of a “from cradle to grave” perspective, and they can be used in a comprehensive early planning or design phase that, for example, includes an evaluation of the environmental impact of different conceptual choices. Within the commodity industry, and with the car manufacturing industry in the forefront, LCA is today used as a tool for product development. Within the maritime industry some projects have been performed during the latest years 6. Det Norske Veritas 7 has introduced a new environmental class in which ships are certified in accordance to specified environmental requirements. The arrangement is voluntary and is typically applied within the areas of cruise, car and paper transportation. That is to say, in cases where the environmental effect of the transportation can be identified and linked to the end product and where it can be actively used in the shipping owners’ marketing activities. Due to the increased focus on environmental issues, LCA is viewed as a tool in the development of new types of vessels in an early planning or design phase with the evaluation of the environmental consequences of different conceptual choices in mind. For both shipping companies and producers of seafood it will become increasingly important to document that the activity takes place in accordance with the sustainability principles. By means of LCA it is possible to assess the environmental impact of new solutions in an objective manner and to compare these with reference values. In order to be able to establish objective criteria for the measurement of the environmental impact from fish products, the whole value chain must be analysed, starting from the point the fish is removed from the sea and ending when it arrives at the consumer, see Fig. 1.

Fig. 1: The value chain in the fisheries

Though harvesting operations amounts to only one part of this chain, it constitutes a dominating portion even if we take into consideration variables such as the catch method, the distance to the markets and so on. Christensen and Ritter (Ref. 8) have employed a Life Cycle Screening (LCS) method1 which estimated that 46% of the total load on the environment could be ascribed to the fish-capture phase in connection with the production of trawl-caught herring in glass containers.

THE PROJECT “THE ENERGY EFFICIENT SHIP” – THE TEES PROJECT To be able to incorporate environmental aspects in an early planning phase, the project “The Energy Efficient Ship” was performed as a joint project between Hauschildt Marine in Denmark, Armstrong Technology Ltd. in UK, Fiskerstrand Yard in Norway and PE product Engineering GmbH in Germany as enterprise (SME) partners. NEA Transport and Trading, the Netherlands, Institute für Kunststoffprüfung und Kunststoffkunde at the University of Stuttgart in Germany and SINTEF Fishery and aquaculture in Norway participated as research partners. The project was led by Eric Støttrup Thompsen ApS in Denmark.

The Vessel Design Tool Package The Energy Efficient Ship (TEES) project has resulted in an overall computer software package, the Vessel Design Tool Package. In principle the Package consists of the following modules: the Design for Environment tool (DFE tool), the Environmental and Energy Database, the Design Features and Functions tool and the Cost-Income Features tool. The Vessel Design Tool Package is developed initially for three vessel types: - long lining fishing vessel - fast ferry - container vessel The reason for this is that the design parameters are developed as vessel specific databases, based on the parameters from a large number of designs. The design types are chosen by the SME partners for their specific sector of interests. Further, by choosing different vessel types experience is gained on how to generalise the model, in order to make the model applicable on widely different ship types in future developments. The structure of this package is illustrated in Fig. 2. The various parts of the Vessel Design Tool Package are shortly described in the following.

1 A LCS consists of a simplified life-cycle analysis that aim to reveal where the most important contributions to pollution come from in connection with producing a product or carrying out a process.

Fig. 2 The Vessel Design Tool Package

The Design for Environment (DFE) Tool

The DFE Tool is developed by PE product Engineering GmbH as the tool for user interface and co-ordination with the other programme packages. The DFE Tool provides possibilities for quick assessment, with an accepted higher uncertainty, of a new ship or ship idea if needed. Further the tool provides the possibility to refine the modelling by communication with the other tools. Guidelines are developed to secure important materials and design features are taken into account by the DFE-user when refining the ship concept. Typical input parameters are: • Type of vessel (passenger vessel, container vessel or fishing vessel) • Hull material • Superstructure material • Main dimensions (length, breadth, depth) The DFE Tool can also calculate optional input parameters: • Block coefficient • Weight data • Capacities (cargo space, passenger capacity, fishing quota etc.) • Speed • Power • Electrical load • Endurance The results are described as diagrams that can easily be interpreted. The diagrams are of the kind shown in Fig. 3. Results can be presented in a similar way related to the various lifetime phases also when it comes to emissions and costs.

Environmental and Energy Database (IKP-LCA-Tool)

DFE TOOL

Input Parameters

Design Features and Functions (SINTEF-Tool)

Cost-Income Features (modified NEA-Tool)

Results

Fig. 3 Typical output presentation Further it has been the aim to be able to calculate and display results on more detailed levels as which materials will cause the most severe environmental effects, what is the most cost effective maintenance process and so on. The energy unit is aggregated MJ, the environmental categories are GWP (Global Warming Potential), ODP (Ozone Depletion Potential), AP (Acidification Potential), NP (Nutrification Potential) and POCP (Photochemical Ozone Creation Potential). To be able to compare different vessels by means of an overall environmental profile, a weighting method is available which also can be adapted to the users needs.

The Design Model The design model consist of the following three tools: The Fishing Vessel Design Tool is a further development of a long liner design model previously developed by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and SINTEF Fisheries and aquaculture in cooperation with Fiskerstrand Yard as a nationally funded project. This tool, in a modified version, was made available for the TEES project. This tool will be described in detail as a “stand alone” unit in a later chapter. The Fast Ferry Design Tool, a software partly based on the Fishing Vessel Design Tool and adapted by a student project work at NTNU in Trondheim for Hauschildt Marine for integration in the Vessel Design Tool Package. This tool is based on statistical analysis (regression) of earlier built vessels. The Containership Vessel Design Tool, a software part based on the Fishing Vessel Design Tool and adapted by a student work at Newcastle University for Armstrong Technology and integrated in the Vessel Design Tool Package. This tool is based on statistical analysis (regression) of earlier built vessels. These tools provide possibilities to go closer in detail into the technical questions, relations, assessments and empirical information, which are to be integrated into the Vessel Design Tool Package. Possibilities for quick assessments based on default values are further provided, as well as the possibility to overwrite these with more exact information, formulas etc. The environmental and cost impact can be assessed for the various lifetime-phases as the building phase including shipyard processes, the operational phase and the scrapping and recycling phase.

The environmental/energy database An environmental/energy database is developed by Institut für Kunststoffprüfung und Kunststoffkunde, the University of Stuttgart. This database is partly based on original data collected in the project period from the shipyard activities and from shipping. However, most of the data are from existing in-house software, the GaBi3 Tool 9 . This has partly been integrated into the Vessel Design Tool Package.

The Cost-Income Model NEA Transport and trading have developed a universal cost and income model for the TEES project. This is a further development of an existing in house software at NEA, the NEAC and the Inbiship tools 10. The Cost-Income Model is of a general nature and can be adapted for the three basis vessels as well as for “generic vessel design”.

The functionality of the tool An optimal compromise between all relevant aspects in the decision support of a new ship design is more sensible than the isolated optimum of single tasks, as the decision support in industry is always dealing with several aspects. The intention of the tool is to help the user to optimise a ship design with regard to energy and environmental aspects, being aware of the influences of the decision. One purpose with the tool is to provide the ship designer or ship owner with decision related information (technical, environmental and economic) in an efficient way. The additional decision support provided by the tool, is done so with information that is generated anyway, but is not normally presented and available in such a format without such a tool. The aim has been to afford extra multi-dimensional decision support with little extra time consumed. Further, if the ship designer and ship owner wish to refine the information produced by the tool, this possibility is kept open, as it is possible to enter own extra information. It shall be both possible and easy to go back and use the DFE-Tool over and over again during the concept, design and construction taking the operation of the vessel into account. New data shall be accumulated to provide better understanding of the present design and better data for design of the next vessel.

THE FISHING VESSEL DESIGN TOOL

General description The prototype model is developed as a stand-alone unit, but the necessary interfaces with the Vessel Design Tool Package are developed in collaboration with the University of Stuttgart. The objective for this model has been to develop a data model that offer the user support in the decision making process. To support decision making in design, the tool may be used to compare different concepts under the assumption of identical external conditions. Points of uncertainty in these cases will be for instance the fish- and fuel prices and the fishing quotas relative to different time intervals. Furthermore, a sensitivity analysis on one or more of the parameters can be conducted to get a picture of the current concept’s resilience in a dynamic and unpredictable market. Results may be presented as: • Tables which show and compare results from different concepts in the same figure or • curves showing which phase in the lifecycle or which subsystem that is the most important with

regards to economic, energy and environmental consideration. It should also be possible to look

more specifically into each phase of the life cycle to get more details about the economic and environmental calculations.

It is important to emphasise that this is not an optimisation tool. The user will, however, be able to define different scenarios and see how concepts will perform both economic and environmentally. The user will be able to document that a particular design will be better for some categories than an alternative design or existing vessel. The model is developed to support Life Cycle Analyses and results can be generated for different: • Operational profiles • Vessel designs • Choice of equipment / subsystems As criteria for evaluation, the user can apply: • Life cycle costs • Life cycle energy consumption • Potential life cycle environmental impacts To achieve flexibility, two levels of input can further be applied: 1. Minimum amount of input can be used to obtain fast results based on regressions, empirical

formulas and default values. 2. Detailed input can be used to achieve control of all input parameters. It is also possible for the user to overrule the calculations and default values.

Tool development process The development process has, as far as possible, followed the standard steps in a Life Cycle Assessment process 5. Thus, when developing the tool, work has been performed within the following work packages and tasks:

1. Energy data for a new case vessel are collected from Fiskerstrand Yard. Also data for an older long liner vessel are collected in order to compare results.

2. Data from both the construction and the operation phase are collected, based on various data books from the construction phase, and measurement and logging during operation.

3. The collected data with respect to material and energy consumption over the vessel’s life cycle are systemised. Special concern has been given to systemisation of the operational data for the various modes of fishing as steaming, setting of the fishing line, hauling and in port. Preliminary energy life cycle analyses have shown the operational phase to be the most significant area with respect to energy consumption.

In close cooperation with Fiskerstrand Yard (and the ship owner of the long liner vessel) the preliminary collected energy and mass data have been further refined, supplemented and systemised.

Programme description

Fig. 4 illustrates the structure of the programme module. The model is programmed in Excel supported by Visual Basic subroutines.

Fig. 4 Fishing Vessel Tool Structure

The various steps and modules in the Fishing Vessel Tool are explained in the following. The Input Module The following can be used as initial input data: • Fish quota and logistics • Cargo space • Main dimensions Calculation module and output module. After the user has chosen his input values, the tool calculates a hull resistance value, based on empirical formulas. With basis in the necessary propeller power and other power requirements, the tool calculates the fuel consumption for each operational phase. The lightship weight and dead weight are also being calculated. We are thus able to calculate some important steel- and aluminium values for the LCA. In the prototype two levels of input exist: • Minimal amount of input:

This implies fast results using rough estimates. (Regression, empirical formulas and default values).

• Detailed input. The user is able to control all input parameters and calculating formulas.

A key feature with the tool is that it should be flexible and adjustable to the users own requirements. As regards the calculation tool, the user can replace the existing empirical formulas with his own ones, if they are more suitable for his project. It is thereby possible for the user to overrule the calculations and default values. When the user is starting a new project, it is also possible to choose between the initial input data, cargo space or main dimensions.

Evaluation criteria Different evaluation criteria can further be used as: • Life cycle profit • Life cycle income • Life cycle costs • Life cycle energy consumption • Environmental performance The model then shows which life cycle phase is the most important with regards to economic, energy and environmental consideration. Further when using the model to analyse various conceptual alternatives, it is possible to look more specific into the most important phase as building, repair, maintenance, steaming, setting, hauling, in port and end of life.

DEMONSTRATION OF THE TOOL The use of the tool is demonstrated for a long lining fishing vessel with two different engine alternatives. A conventional machinery arrangement is defined to be the base case as a diesel electric arrangement is analysed as an alternative. The base case is in combination with a pitch propeller. The lifetime of both cases is stipulated to 25 years, the hull consists of 95% of steel and 5 % of aluminium and the material for the rest of the vessel is 90 % of steel and 10 % aluminium. Fish price is 1,3 USD/kg and number of missions are 10 per year. Mean velocity is 7 knots while setting and 2 knots while hauling. Data are gathered for the operational phase, which is separated in time in port, for steaming, setting and hauling. Further data are given in Table I and Table II. As seen from Table II time spent on active fishing (the setting and hauling) dominates the time consumption. 5.635 hours pr. year is spent in active fishing. This is approximately 74% of the total of 7.644 hours (defined to be a full year).

Table I: Data for fishing vessel

Loa [m]

Bsp [m]

Catch [tons/year]

Cargo space [m3]

T [m]

Cb Service speed

[knots] 37,9 8,7 1600 320 4,1 0,58 12,6

Table II: Time spent pr. year during operation

Phase In port Steaming Setting Hauling In total Hours 420 1.589 980 4.655 7.644 In percent 5% 21% 13% 61% 100% The functional unit2 is one kg round fish delivered on quay. The geographical area of operation is the North Sea and the Barents Sea. A screening of the case is performed initially demonstrating that the environmental impact from the use phase is totally dominating. Further refinement of the concept should consequently focus on this phase, see Fig. 5.

2 According to the ISO 14040-standard, a functional unit is a measure of the performance of the functional outputs of the product system. The primary purpose of a functional unit is to provide a reference to which the inputs and outputs are related. This reference is necessary to ensure comparability of LCA results.

Fig. 5: Lifetime screening of base case

Fig. 6 shows the environmental profile of the operation of the vessel during an average year. It shows that the most significant impact category is acidification with the hauling phase as the dominating contributor. The main contribution here is NOx-emission from the combustion.

Fig. 6: The environmental impact during operation per kg fish (base case)

In order to evaluate the environmental impact, a screening was performed comparing the base case with an alternative case with diesel-electric machinery. First the energy efficiency during operation of the two alternatives was analysed, see Fig. 7.

Fuel consumption

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Fig. 7: Energy efficiency during operation for both alternatives

The energy efficiency for the alternative case is better than for the base case. The explanation can be found in the utilisation profile for the engines. The base case has a conventional diesel engine with pitch propeller. During most of the use phase the engine load is not full and the engine is run at half power a load condition, which it is not optimised for. The alternative machinery configuration entails a generally better utilisation profile of the machinery as can be seen from Fig. 8.

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Fig. 8: Utilisation profile of the to machinery alternatives

By further analysis of the two machinery alternatives, the environmental profiles are found and shown in Fig. 9. This shows that the diesel electric arrangement has a better performance than the base case. .

Environmental effect

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Fig. 9: Environmental profile of the base case and Alternative 1.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

The above example demonstrates that a DFE-tool can be used to reveal life time environmental effects of various conceptual choices in the early design phase. This can be useful for ship designers, yards and ship owners. The tool demonstrated here is a prototype version and further development and refining is in process. An important area for further research is to develop better databases covering more detailed environmental data for reference ships. Today there are no developed standards or references that new designs can be compared to with respect to environmental impact. Further work should therefore focus on the development of environmental profiles of the entire life cycle. Based on environmental improvement goals, the profile of the “design for tomorrow” could be demonstrated. This is one of the research areas in a new strategic research programme at SINTEF Fisheries and aquaculture in Trondheim. References:

1. Angelfoss A., Johnsen T., Fet, A. M. and Karlsen H., ‘Life Cycle Evaluation of Ship

Transportation – State of the Art’, Ålesund College, Report no. 10/B101/R-90/007/00, 1998 2. Tyedmers P., ‘Energy Consumed by North Atlantic Fisheries’, School for Resource and

Environmental Studies, Dalhousie University, 1312 Robie Street, Halifax, NS, B3H, 3E2, Canada, 2002

3. Mandag Morgen MicroNews, ’Fiskeriets nye markedsvirkelighed - Nye udfordringer for nordisk fiskeri (in Danish)’, Report prepared for the Nordic Council of Ministers, 1998

4. Ziegler F., ‘Environmental Assessment of seafood with a life-cycle perspective’, Licentiate Thesis, Department of Marine Ecology, Gothenburg University and SIK, The Swedish Institute for Food and Biotechnology, Gothenburg, Sverige, December 2001, ISBN 91-7290-216-7, SIK Report 689, 2001

5. ISO-14040- standards, the International Standardisation Organisation, 1998. 6. Fet A. M., Sørgård E., ‘Life Cycle Evaluation of Ship Transportation – Development of

Methodology and Testing’, Research report HiÅ 10/B101/R-98/008/00, 1998 7. Det Norske Veritas classification, “Environmental Class Notation”, 1999, Norway. 8. Cristensen P. and Ritter E, ‘Life cycle screening of pickled herring in jars’, Department of

Development and Planning, Aalborg University, Denmark, 2000 9. GaBi-software, http://www.pe-product.de/GABI 10. NEA Transport Research and Training http://www.nea.nl/ (2000)