Shell has signed a five-year contract with Kongsberg for the installation of the JAWS (Just Add Water System) software on board 45 of the LNG carriers chartered by Shell, all of which currently use the Kongsberg Maritime K-IMS Information Management System application suite.
The contract signing follows a successful year-long trial, co-conducted by Kongsberg, Shell and LNG shipping services provider Gaslog, on board the LNG carrier Methane Julia Louise. The vessel’s shaft energy consumption was recorded for nine months prior to the JAWS installation, as well as throughout the year-long trial with the JAWS software installed, and the trial demonstrated that JAWS could provide a significant fuel saving for the vessel.
JAWS is a hydrodynamic optimisation program, with no additional instrumentation required. It calculates the most advantageous operating conditions in real time based on algorithms developed from historic high-frequency vessel data. The system continually issues recommendations for optimal trim and draught, helping crews to cut fuel consumption and GHG emissions. JAWS provides live data that allows ship and fleet managers to monitor and report emissions savings.
K-IMS is a web-based solution which gives ship crews and shore teams continual access to voyage and vessel data. The provision of JAWS as an application within the K-IMS suite renders it instantly available to all K-IMS users.
Over the course of the year-long testing phase, onboard and onshore monitoring confirmed that the JAWS software generated average energy savings of 5% when its recommendations were followed. This benchmark data was contrasted with performance data gathered from the sister vessel Methane Becki Anne, which followed a similar trading pattern. One immediate outcome of the tests was a commitment from NSML (Nigeria Ship Management Limited) to invest in JAWS software for 11 of its LNG carriers.
Karrie Trauth, SVP Shell Shipping and Maritime, said: “JAWS has arrived at a pivotal time for shipping operations, when digitalisation is being recognised as a key enabler for an industry determined to cut costs, reduce emissions and enhance efficiency. It was encouraging to see JAWS referenced directly in the International Energy Agency’s World Energy Outlook 2021 flagship report as a key technology for delivering on emission-reducing targets in the shipping sector.”
The availability of JAWS via the K-IMS solution is expected to prove valuable in the light of the IMO’s imminent revision of its GHG reduction strategy, involving SEEMP and CII.
JAWS is not only applicable to LNG shipping: Shell is currently working with KONGSBERG to include JAWS in the Kognifai Marketplace, which will allow the system to become available to ocean-going ships of all types utilising the Vessel Insight infrastructure.
