5 ms·
This is interesting because cargo ships are more fuel-efficient at slow speeds [1][2]. But with a crewed ship, slow speed means higher labor costs. I wonder h
by mbrubeck 12y ago
This is interesting because cargo ships are more fuel-efficient at slow speeds [1][2]. But with a crewed ship, slow speed means higher labor costs. I wonder how much remote piloting or auto-piloting of ultra-slow ships can change this equation.
[1] http://people.hofstra.edu/geotrans/eng/ch8en/conc8en/fuel_consumption_containerships.html http://people.hofstra.edu/geotrans/eng/ch8en/conc8en/fuel_co...
[2] http://ultraslowships.com/ http://ultraslowships.com/
- aaron695 12y agoI find it unlikely labour costs make much of a difference compared to cargo being delayed on slow ships. I would be more along the lines of, labour free ships don't go on strike/have HR incidents and delay cargo.
- qq66 12y agoShips actually use very precise algorithms to calculate the relative cost of labor vs. inventory getting delayed, using factors like the depreciation of the cargo, the spot price of fuel, and even changing interest rates in the market. Oil tankers in the middle of the ocean, for example, will speed up and slow down as spot prices of oil increase or short-term interest rates decrease, since the inventory cost of their cargo has gone up and then down.
- el_benhameen 12y agoThat's absolutely fascinating. Do you have a source for further reading on those optimizations? I haven't been able to find anything with a bit of googling.
- toomuchtodo 12y agoUnfortunately, most of the papers I found by googling are behind paywalls :(
- v3rt 12y agoI for one would still appreciate a link - I think those of us on academic networks should be able to see most papers behind paywalls
- toomuchtodo 12y agoGoogle for "oil tanker algorithms"
- qq66 12y agoThis page has a link to an Excel spreadsheet that calculates optimum speed as a function of fuel price and other factors: http://www.intertanko.com/Members-Information/benchmark/Optimum-speed-calvulator/ http://www.intertanko.com/Members-Information/benchmark/Opti...
- Serow225 12y agooil tankers will sometimes even park themselves out in the ocean for weeks in order to not burn fuel while waiting for the projected price of their cargo to be optimal at the time they actually steam into port. Oil tankering optimization is a very complex and interesting problem!
- matthewwiese 12y agoThis sounds very interesting! Do you recommend any articles to read on the topic?
- arjie 12y agoThe article says otherwise. Labour costs seem rather a significant percentage. > Crew costs of $3,299 a day account for about 44 percent of total operating expenses for a large container ship, according to Moore Stephens LLP, an industry accountant and consultant.
- wisty 12y agoOperating expenses, not the cost of the ship. Other operating expenses are just fuel, aren't they? Not that fuelling a container ship is cheap. The capital cost is probably as much as fuel and crew together. Still, if crew is ~20% of costs, it's worth looking at.
- Casseres 12y ago$3,299 is EXTREMELY cheap. I don't think that is right. A captain alone can cost anywhere from $600 to $1000 a day. Then you have a Chief Engineer that might just be $100 less a day, other officers, then unlicensed crew. Salary-wise, that number is less than half. Also, unless they are getting their fuel for about 30 cents a gallon, fuel costs a lot more than $8247.50 (the other 56%) a day.
- Casseres 12y agoCorrection: The other 56% is $4198.73 a day.