Autopilot upgraded on Fionia Sea to support fuel savings

German ship navigation system provider Anschütz has upgraded the autopilot onboard roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) ferry Fionia Sea to support fuel savings.

Fionia Sea is a 187-meter twin-propelled RoRo ferry in liner service between the UK and the Netherlands, owned by Leomar RoRo and managed by AdMare Ship Management. The refit took place during the 5-year renewal survey at a shipyard in Poland until the beginning of June 2024.

As part of the owner’s decarbonization strategy, Anschütz has already fitted the new autopilot to the sister vessels Corona Sea and Hafnia Sea.

The new NautoPilot 5400 NX autopilot offers maximum precision when required and the widest range of fuel-saving functions.

Furthermore, the system supports efforts to reduce fuel consumption and emissions with a range of features, including an ECO mode and a course control mode, both of which reduce the frequency and amplitude of rudder movements, thereby reducing fuel consumption.

According to the company, for vessels with twin rudders such as Fionia Sea, the toe angle function makes a significant contribution to the reduction of fuel consumption.

Toe angle allows the autopilot to control the individual rudder angles, reducing the drag caused by the wake fields of the two rudders and, thus, significantly reducing fuel consumption.

A computational fluid dynamics analysis, fuel tank tests and on-board investigations showed fuel savings of up to 5% when the rudder angles were set efficiently, the company said.

“We are very pleased that the performance of our autopilot has convinced our customer and that we have received another order for retrofitting with our NautoPilot 5400 NX,” said Jörn Fischbach, Area Sales Manager at Anschütz.

“In addition to precise steering performance and easy operation, our autopilot offers a unique variety of functions for fuel efficiency and lower emissions, helping shipowners with their decarbonisation strategy.”

“We have an ambitious strategy to increase efficiency and reduce emissions on our vessels,” stated Carl-Johan Eriksson, Safety and Sustainability Manager at AdMare Ship Management.

“The Anschütz autopilots are part of our solution and have already proven their efficient steering performance on our vessels.”