Manta Marine Technologies (MMT) has unlocked further fuel and emissions savings from its popular FuelOpt™ system with the addition of the trim optimization advisory system TrimSense™.
Available as a simple added feature to existing FuelOpt installations, TrimSense has the potential to deliver fuel savings of 1–4%. TrimSense also comes with the additional benefit of no commercial downtime during installations. The system integrates easily and assists with fuel and emissions reporting and can be utilized alongside AI technologies for calculating operational voyage parameters.
Richard Engelhart Bjercke, MMT Chief Commercial Officer, says, “Having recently celebrated over 400 sales of FuelOpt, MMT is proud to bring greater cost savings, emissions reduction, and operational optimization to its customers with TrimSense. We continue to develop and innovate across our suite of optimization solutions, enabling ship owners and operators to provide support to their crews while also reaping the commercial and regulatory compliance benefits of lower fuel costs and reduced carbon emissions.”
How TrimSense Works
TrimSense collects accurate, real-time data from high-frequency inclination sensors, using a processing algorithm to display constant measurements of trim—the difference between the forward and aft draught of a vessel. Changes in trim affect vessel performance, and by optimizing trim accounting for draught and vessel speed, propulsion power requirements can be lowered and fuel saved.
The system is set up with defined optimal trim values, which can be determined by towing tank tests, historical data, or computational fluid dynamics. Where existing values are not available, MMT can assist in providing optimal trim values to help shipowners access the benefits of TrimSense.
The FuelOpt bridge display panel offers clear visual feedback on trim performance, delivering decision-making support to the crew and enabling vessel operation according to Best Practices. Data from TrimSense is also made available to other systems, such as MMT’s Fleet Analytics™ performance management and reporting tool.
“Our ongoing development ensures crews will continue to have the latest technology to maximize the performance of their vessels while also ensuring safety. As the prices of traditional and low carbon fuels increase, investments in operational efficiency will continue to bring returns, regardless of which fuel is in the ship’s tanks,” Bjercke explains.