The Impact of Container Ship Trim on Fuel Consumption and Navigation Safety

Abstract

Fuel consumption, fuel cost savings, environmental pollution, and navigation safety are significant factors for shipping companies. Maritime transport represents 3% of total greenhouse gas emissions globally. Trim optimization is one of the ways to save energy and reduce ship emissions. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate how the optimization of the trim of container ships at different speeds can decrease exhaust gas emissions and fuel consumption while considering the safety of navigation. This research was conducted by calculating the fuel consumption in real conditions and calculating the optimal trim for different speeds and gases of a container ship of 11,400 TEU. All obtained results were statistically processed to analyze fuel consumption at various speeds, considering the ship’s trim. It turns out that savings should never be at the expense of navigation safety, especially in limited maneuvering areas, such as canals. When maneuvering in such places it is necessary to adjust the trim to ensure navigation safety, i.e., to improve the rudder and propulsion device response, instead of reducing fuel consumption