Analyzing the economic benefit of fully electric autonomous vessel variants

Abstract

Autonomous vessels carry the potential to increase the profitability of shipping companies. It is believed that an autonomous vessel design operates more efficient compared to a manned design. In this thesis the challenges of autonomous shipping and its consequences on ship design and the operation are identified. This information is used to give a cost analysis on the autonomous variant of a manned vessel. The results from thesis can be used by researchers and ship owners to determine whether its autonomous ship design and its operation are economically viable. This is valuable for investors to decide whether their case is favourable for autonomous shipping. The main question answered is: What are the operational conditions under which an autonomous battery powered vessel design is economically viable over its electric manned variant?

The changes in ship design and its consequences result in a change in capital and operational cost. The removed crew systems and additional equipment cost are presented. Overall a decrease in both capital and operational cost is expected. The actual size of the cost reduction is case dependent. Therefore the operational conditions which affect the economical viability most, are identified. They are identified in a case study on a dredger operating in a port. The design and capital cost factors are presented, where after it is concluded that the displacement, battery capacity, distance to shore and the vessels specific operation influence the cost benefit. Therefore they are presented as the operational conditions.

The operational conditions are tested in two case studies. For both case studies a significant cost reduction is obtained. These vessels are thus economical viable. The size of the overall reduction is dependent on the operational conditions. It is concluded that the displacement has a relatively small effect on the total cost. The battery capacity however, does have a significant effect. The capacity decrease is largest for vessels with an original large hotel load and large battery capacity. The larger the battery decrease, the larger the decrease in cost. Furthermore, vessels that operate within the Wi-Fi zone are favourable over vessels operating further from shore because of its communication system. Finally, the vessels specific operation regarding crew and accommodation size are most significant. The operational cost decrease for manning is larger for larger crews. In addition, the cost decrease for the accommodation section and its operational benefits are significant.