Energy Consumption and Conservation in Shipbuilding

Transportation of goods and people across water is a necessary engineering activity for the economic growth of individuals and society. But does this growth affect sustainable development through environmental degradation? A ship’s life cycle consists of mainly the following stages: concept exploration, design, production, operation and maintenance and dismantling. Among them, the major energy consuming stages can be identified as  (i)  shipbuilding   (ii)  ship operation and maintenance   and    (iii) ship dismantling.

The energy consumed in building a ship can be grouped under major heads as establishment energy, direct energy in materials and its transportation, direct energy consumed in construction of the particular ship and indirect or overhead energy consumed in the shipyard which cannot be billed to a ship.

A shipyard is erected to build ship. Therefore a portion of the energy spent in building a shipyard has to be billed to the ship’s account built in that yard. One could assume a numbers of years (day, N) of productive life of a shipyard and knowing the CGT (Compensated Gross Tonnage) built per year (CGTy), one can calculate the energy to be accounted for in that ship’s account.

The energy consumed in the shipbuilding process can be grouped under three heads.

a)Direct Materials (energy contained in the materials of a ship and their transportation).

b)Direct (energy consumed in construction of the particular ships such as electricity consumed due to welding, cutting , use of cranes, transportation of block etc).

c)Indirect or overhead (energy consumed in the shipyard which cannot be billed to a particular ship, such as electricity and fuel consumed in administration, design, planning, transportation of personnel etc.).

For reduction of energy consumption in shipbuilding, the measures to be considered are Optimal design and procurement, Use of alternative materials which are biodegradable or re-usable, use of improved and modernised machinery, Elimination of re-work, Indirect energy consumption by optimal ship production or maximising CGTy and Use of alternative / renewable energy sources.

A fraction of the energy consumed in building a ship can be recovered by recycling. Ideally, for recycling to be effective, recycling yards should require minimum investment.

Transportation of goods and people across water is a necessary engineering activity for the economic growth of individuals and society. But does this growth affect sustainable development through environmental degradation? A ship’s life cycle consists of mainly the following stages: concept exploration, design, production, operation and maintenance and dismantling. Among them, the major energy consuming stages can be identified as  (i)  shipbuilding   (ii)  ship operation and maintenance   and    (iii) ship dismantling.

The energy consumed in building a ship can be grouped under major heads as establishment energy, direct energy in materials and its transportation, direct energy consumed in construction of the particular ship and indirect or overhead energy consumed in the shipyard which cannot be billed to a ship.

A shipyard is erected to build ship. Therefore a portion of the energy spent in building a shipyard has to be billed to the ship’s account built in that yard. One could assume a numbers of years (day, N) of productive life of a shipyard and knowing the CGT (Compensated Gross Tonnage) built per year (CGTy), one can calculate the energy to be accounted for in that ship’s account.

The energy consumed in the shipbuilding process can be grouped under three heads.

a)Direct Materials (energy contained in the materials of a ship and their transportation).

b)Direct (energy consumed in construction of the particular ships such as electricity consumed due to welding, cutting , use of cranes, transportation of block etc).

c)Indirect or overhead (energy consumed in the shipyard which cannot be billed to a particular ship, such as electricity and fuel consumed in administration, design, planning, transportation of personnel etc.).

For reduction of energy consumption in shipbuilding, the measures to be considered are Optimal design and procurement, Use of alternative materials which are biodegradable or re-usable, use of improved and modernised machinery, Elimination of re-work, Indirect energy consumption by optimal ship production or maximising CGTy and Use of alternative / renewable energy sources.

A fraction of the energy consumed in building a ship can be recovered by recycling. Ideally, for recycling to be effective, recycling yards should require minimum investment.