Analyzing the Relationship Between Speed and Fuel Consumption in Bulk Carriers for Optimized Voyage Performance

Lilian Edmund Peter; Prof. Wilfred Johnson Kileo; Geophrey Damson; Humphrey  Swalle      : .

doi:10.56201/ijemt.vol.11.no6.2025.pg107.112

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Analyzing the Relationship Between Speed and Fuel Consumption in Bulk Carriers for Optimized Voyage Performance

Lilian Edmund Peter , Prof. Wilfred Johnson Kileo , Geophrey Damson , & Humphrey Swalle : .

Abstract

Fuel consumption represents a significant operational cost in bulk carrier operations, especially under voyage charter arrangements where the shipowner bears the voyage costs. This study investigates the relationship between vessel speed and fuel consumption using operational data from ten voyages of MV 06, a Handymax bulk carrier. The ports like WEIPA and Zhoushan show higher fuel consumption per voyage, which reflects longer distance, and Zhoushan, due to operational challenges, while Jingjiang shows lower average consumption caused by shorter distance. A quadratic regression model was used to quantify the nonlinear relationship between speed and fuel usage. The findings confirm a strong quadratic correlation (R² = 0.773), indicating that fuel consumption increases disproportionately with speed. These insights are critical for speed optimization strategies aimed at minimizing costs and reducing emissions while ensuring delivery efficiency under commercial and regulatory constraints.

Keywords

bulk carrierfuel consumptionspeed optimizationvoyage charterquadratic

References

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Analyzing the Relationship Between Speed and Fuel Consumption in Bulk Carriers for Optimized Voyage Performance

Abstract

Keywords

References

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