The Impact of the Underwater Hull Anti-Fouling Silicone Coating on a Ferry’s Fuel Consumption

There are well-known specifics of ro-pax ferry shipping, such as the time factor as a consequence of keeping a regular timetable and the priority given to minimizing heeling, pitching, and rolling caused by maximum focus on passenger comfort and ro-ro cargo safety. It is also extremely important to control the ferry’s fuel consumption, being one of the most important cost components. The aim of the article is to draw the attention of shipping company managers to the great potential that lies in the use of routine operational data, collected exclusively on board the ferries. It is worth noting that the research in this paper is based on standard office software packages rather than advanced statistical methods of data analysis, which are usually not accessible for shipping managers. Contrary to typical ocean-going vessels, there are a number of factors that need to be taken into consideration when analyzing ro-pax ferry fuel consumption. Moreover, these factors occur, in many cases, accidentally and, thus, they are difficult to observe on board the ferry without utilizing expensive and time-consuming methods. The possibility of fuel control is important not only for economic reasons but also due to air pollution caused by engine exhausts. The article presents an estimation of increased fuel consumption caused by the degradation of the hull silicone anti-fouling coating. The presented estimations of fuel consumption may be treated as the base for calculations of the economic effectiveness of ferries. The attempt to resolve the above-mentioned problem was made on the basis of research on a real ferry, which took place on the Świnoujście-Trelleborg line between 2007 and 2019.