Sharing insights on best practice

RINA’s inaugural Ship Energy Efficiency Conference brought together shipowners, operators and industry partners to share real-world case studies and measurable outcomes from vessel efficiency projects.

 

Below are summaries of two presentations.

 

Metis: building trust in fleet performance analytics

As the maritime industry increasingly relies on data-driven decision-making, the quality and transparency of that data are critical.

 

The Metis platform ingests high-frequency telemetry data, integrating noon reports, ERP data, weather feeds and AIS positioning into a cloud-based analytics environment. Its Scoring concept consolidates KPIs across four domains – Emissions, Operations, Performance and Machinery – into a single normalised Vessel Score.

 

Underpinning the platform is the Metis Confidence Framework, developed in response to the ‘Garbage In, Garbage Out’ problem, which takes on added significance when poor data produces erroneous analytics that generate misleading AI-driven insights. The framework operates across three layers: infrastructure-level connectivity monitoring with self-healing capabilities; data conditioning using machine learning to detect sensor anomalies and quantify signal quality through a Data Health metric; and a transparency layer delivering analytics with explicit confidence ratings, including error and bias figures. 

A chance to network at a RINA conference

 

ICS: Energy efficiency and underwater noise

Most energy efficiency measures being adopted to meet IMO greenhouse gas (GHG) regulations will also reduce underwater radiated noise (URN), according to research presented by Chris Waddington, technical director of the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) and chair of its URN working group.

 

Shipping is the principal anthropogenic source of underwater noise, and ship-generated acoustic spectra closely overlap the frequency ranges used by fish and marine mammals for communication, hunting and reproduction.

 

Waddington noted that a 3dB per decade increase in background ocean noise levels represents a doubling of sound energy per decade.

 

A VARD study examining more than 100 energy efficiency measures found that around two thirds produced a concurrent URN reduction. A subsequent NAVISON study, sponsored by the European Maritime Safety Agency, forecast a 30% reduction in URN energy density across European waters as a direct consequence of IMO GHG compliance.

 

A case study involving Tallink Group’s ro-pax vessel Baltic Queen illustrated the synergy in practice. Following a speed reduction to meet GHG requirements, replacement propeller blades optimised for the new operating condition were fitted at a cost of €13,640, delivering a low-frequency URN reduction of up to 15dB and average fuel savings of approximately 17%.

 

Waddington identified three efficiency measures that conflict with URN reduction: propeller blade area ratio optimisation, slow running of controllable pitch propellers, and ultrasonic antifouling systems. Careful management of these areas should allow other efficiency measures to drive down ambient URN in aggregate.

 

This article appeared in Events, TNA May/June 2026.