Teekay Tankers brings FuelOpt installation across 29 tankers

Oil shipping company Teekay Tankers has signed agreements to equip 25 additional tankers with Yara Marine Technologies’ FuelOpt propulsion optimization technology.

The order follows the installation and evaluation of FuelOpt onboard Zenith Spirit in 2021, followed by a further three vessels in 2022.

Teekay placed the new orders in Q1 and Q2 2023 after achieving fuel savings and emissions reductions of 3-5% through 2022 on its four ships with the installed systems.

“Energy saving is a non-negotiable priority for Teekay, as we remain committed to reducing emissions and streamlining operations across our fleet. FuelOpt has demonstrated tangible savings on our pilot vessels in 2022, which we hope to replicate further in the fleet,” Soumendu Das Roy, Technical Director at Teekay Tankers, said.

FuelOpt system automates and executes key operational settings throughout a vessel’s voyage to save fuel without compromising operational efficiency. It optimizes engine and propeller performance by independently and dynamically controlling propeller pitch and engine power. It enables the combination of various pitch settings with different RPMs, harnessing the flexibility to maximize propeller thrust while minimizing power consumption. By doing so, it optimizes energy utilization, ensuring the engine operates at its peak efficiency.

“Shipping’s continued success hinges on our ability to address existing challenges — such as the rising cost of fuels and the need to reduce emissions — while including the potential expense of future fuels in the strategy. Increased fuel efficiency is a practical, tried-and-tested solution that can address these challenges, now and in the future,” Mikael Laurin, Head of Vessel Optimization at Yara Marine Technologies, said.

In addition, Yara Marine said that its FuelOpt can offer support in addressing the requirements for year-on-year Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) improvements. Specifically, the system logs all performance and navigational parameters in the vessel’s performance management and reporting software. This data can be synchronized with fleet management software to enable easy reporting.

When Shaft Power Limitation (ShaPoLi) functionality is included in FuelOpt as per Teekay’s vessels, the reporting also includes excess power reporting mandated by Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index (EEXI) requirements on the use of ShaPoLi.

Teekay Tankers is implementing engine power limitation (EPL) on its vessels to meet the EEXI requirements, which mandate 20% improvement in vessel design efficiency for tankers from a baseline introduced in 2013.

The company also plans to install Shipshave, a semi-autonomous hull cleaning tool, on four more vessels this year as part of its energy efficiency strategy.