Shipboard Energy Conservation and Fuel Management Decision Tools

Since September FY 04, fuel price has increased 203% from $35.28 to $106.00 per barrel. As a result, energy conservation and fuel management have become extremely important to the mission readiness and effectiveness of US Navy surface ships. Unfortunately, current efforts are very labor-intensive and time-consuming. For example, to generate a single fuel consumption curve, Ship’s Force (S/F) must manually collect and analyze data while the ship operates at different speeds. Although the process only takes a few hours to accomplish, there are many different engine configurations, and all require separate fuel curves. As another example, fuel usage data must be manually collected, consolidated, and distributed throughout the fleet on a daily basis. The process occupies multiple resources, including the Chief Engineer, and utilizes antiquated modes of data collection and report distribution, including the use of paper logs. These processes require significant man-hours, and since both require manual inputs, both are very susceptible to error.