It turned out to be a normal day in Belize; at least normal for the standards that we apply this season. The continuous stream of cold fronts from the north have changed the parameters for what is “normal” somewhat. Thus it was a warm day to our standards but not warm according to the locals. It was breezy to our standards but windy according to our tender operators. So in a way you get used to everything I suppose and the Veendam had a normal day in Belize.
Again my chief engineer was not a happy man as I kept the stern thruster going all day to keep a nice lee for the tenders alongside the platform. It is a costly service, a full day costs about 9 x 0, 8 tons x $ 245 = $ 1764 extra expenditure in fuel which we would not have had if there was not this wind that made the ship yawn behind the anchor. However I find $ 1800 a sound investment if it prevents an accident, even a small accident, at the gangway because of a wobbly tender boat. In fuel saving the Veendam did well this year anyway. We ended up with over 4% under budget, double from what the companies target was. These efforts first of all help to reduce the costs for the company but ultimately it reduces the ticket price for the guests. With the current down turn in the economy the ticket prices are greatly under pressure and a company that has dedicated captains and chief engineers who manage to reduce the costs, can offer a better ticket price than otherwise would be possible.
Of course for next year the budget will be adjusted again, to see if we can do even better and the challenge will be on to achieve that budget. The company itself is helping us with our challenge and currently we are testing a dynamic trim tool on board. A Finnish company has come up with a system that makes it possible to measure the trim of the ship while sailing. Trim is the difference between how deep the bow is in the water compared with the stern. Thus if we draw 25 feet of water at the bow and 27 feet at the stern, then we have a trim of 2 feet by the stern. Thus far we could only observe the real draft of the ship when she was docked or at anchor and for the rest we could only calculate and or guess the true draft while sailing. As water is made and consumed, fuel is used, ballast pumped, water discharged etc.etc., the draft and the trim of the ship continuously changes. Now with this system that we are testing we can measure at all times the trim of the ship.
This is important, as the right trim, makes the ship go at its optimum speed through the water. Thus the right combination of speed versus fuel consumption can be achieved. Those who sail the S-class ships know by experience that these ships sail the best with about 1.5 feet of trim in the bow. The bulbous bow works the best then. So when the installer came on board (they call him a commissioning captain………….) I kept my mouth shut and let him do his thing. However one of his first conclusions was, that the ship seemed to move the best with a trim over the bow of 43 centimeters………….that is 1.5 feet. With a statement like that, I am willing to believe that there is a future for this system and we all follow the continuous testing with great interest. If this system really delivers; then we will be able to optimize the ships trim at all times and that should eventually reduce the fuel bill by at least 3% extra a year.
Our guests had an enjoyable day in Belize and were all back onboard on time. Not so, those of the Norwegian Pearl. This was therefore the first time that I beat the Norwegian Pearl on departure. They arrive each week an hour after us and sail most of the time about 20 minutes ahead of us. This time they were still unloading tenders when I had already picked up my anchor and was making speed. As they only have to go to Cozumel, they are not in a hurry either so we both moved at a sedate pace through the channel towards the pilot station.
Tomorrow we are in Santo Tomas and the weather forecast is confusing. It reads rain in Barrios and partly cloudy in Santo Tomas. The two ports are only 5 miles apart, so I wonder. But with snow in Las Vegas……….everything is possible.
December 19, 2008 at 6:59 am
Thanks for the notes about trim. I’ve boated with a 75 footer for years, with trim tabs at the stern. Never thought about it on a ship. Very interesting. Merry Christmas.
December 20, 2008 at 3:01 pm
Those Finns have come up with several “primeurs” in technical inventions. In the late ’90’s folks in Estonia could already pay for parking and pay for a Coke from a vending machine on their Nokia cell phones! Now it’s a trim tool for use on board ships [I noticed the ms Prinsendam was made in Finland and I know exactly where those building docks are 🙂 ]. Just on 18Dec08 I read that “cruise ships stopping in Vancouver will soon be able to plug into the dock and use hydro-electricity instead of diesel engines to stay powered”. It would mean that your VE stern thrusters can be kept going all day by simply being plugged into this shore electricity power, wouldn’t it? [as in Juneau, your blog of 24Jun08?] That would jack up the savings in the fuel bill for HAL even more next year, wouldn’t it?