Swedish marine tech company Qtagg is releasing an update to its voyage optimisation system EcoPilot that introduces a CII mode, which will enable a ship to arrive at its destination with a predetermined CII rating.
The established EcoPilot solution is designed to save fuel, decrease emissions and optimise propulsion efficiency on ro-ro, ro-pax and cargo ships. Using the just-in-time arrival mode, proven fuel savings are about 7%. Using interactive on time arrival, it is possible to achieve an additional 20%. This means a better CII rating and predictable result for each voyage.
The new mode is aimed to benefit ship owners and operators that want to control CII ratings of their ships, while not overcompensating by slowing down too much. They will be able to choose a CII value for every voyage and reliably target that outcome. Operators will be able to better maintain their yearly revenue per ship and be in full control of fleet performance.
EcoPilot has been in operation for more than 10 years. It has different operational modes: arrival time, fixed ship speed, lowest fuel consumption or desired CII value. The CII mode is the latest addition, developed in response to IMO regulations.
Tomas Lindqvist of Qtagg said: “The propulsion plan is calculated based on the desired outcome and acknowledged by the captain. EcoPilot is connected to the governors and pitch controller for automatic execution of the propulsion plan. The plan is recalculated continuously, based on updated weather reports and ship progress. Changes in schedule can be sent directly to the system from onshore fleet operations centre and once acknowledged by the bridge, the propulsion plan is optimized and updated. It is impossible to reach the same result trying to manually follow advice on ship speed. It is our integrated propulsion power control system that provides fuel savings, and predictable arrival times and CII values – all at the same time. Also, this is not a tool for simulations – it is an actual working control system.”
