Client context
A North Sea offshore support vessel operator faced rising fuel costs and pressure from charterers to demonstrate measurable emissions reductions—not just theoretical improvements.
Problem
Fuel penalties appearing despite nominal compliance with speed and power curves
No clear attribution between hull condition, propulsion losses, and operational profile
Existing onboard data was underutilised and poorly reconciled with physics-based models
What we did
High-fidelity CFD of hull resistance across fouling states and draught conditions
Propeller–hull interaction analysis to isolate wake losses and thrust deduction factors
Translation of CFD outputs into reduced-order models suitable for integration with voyage analytics platforms
Independent validation of energy-saving claims against ISO-aligned baselines
Outcome (2024–25)
Identified a 5.8–7.2% fuel penalty attributable to partial fouling not captured by noon reports
Enabled data-driven cleaning and coating decisions with quantified payback (<6 months)
Delivered a physics-validated efficiency envelope that could be ingested directly into digital performance tools
Result: ~6% annual fuel reduction, defensible to charterers and ESG auditors
What's in it for you
Clean separation between measured data and physics-validated truth
Demonstrates how CFD enhances, rather than competes with, AI-driven voyage analytics
Ideal precedent for hybrid model-based + data-driven optimisation
We endeavour to answer all enquiries within 24 hours on business days. We are happy to answer your questions.