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Economic analysis of trans-ocean LNG-fueled container ship

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Abstract

This paper proposes concepts and economic analysis of 9,300 TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit) trans-ocean container ship fueled by LNG, sailing between Asia and Europe, based on the design of existing container ship fueled by bunker oil. For a quantitative comparison, three projects complying with IMO Tier III NO x emission regulation are made: oil-fueled ship with selective catalystic reduction (SCR), LNG-fueled ship with low-speed diesel engine directly coupled to the propulsion system, and LNG-fueled ship with medium-speed diesel electrical propulsion system. Moreover, parameters for the economic analysis study are evaluated by the market research and the general information: initial shipbuilding cost, freight revenue, operation expenditure, and fuel cost. Economic analysis by discount cash flow method shows that the project of LNG low-speed diesel ship is more attractive investment than the project of the oil-fueled ship with SCR. Supposing that life time is 20 years, net present value of each LNG ship is larger than that of the oil-ship at the end of the projects. Moreover, refund time to payback initial cost for the LNG ship is shorter. This result is confirmed by the market price of LNG.

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Abbreviations

D :

Depth

DW:

Dead weight

L :

Length

M :

Cash flow of the project

N :

Project life

NPV:

Net present value

P :

Initial cost

R :

Operating cost

S :

Residual value after project life end

W :

Width

i :

Discount rate

b :

Freight revenue

c:

Non-fuel

f:

Fuel

k :

Ordinal number of year since project start year

pp:

Perpendiculars

u:

40 % Concentration urea solution

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Acknowledgments

This study was carried out based on our investigation study called “The feasibility study of Trans-ocean LNG Fueled Container Ship”, which was sponsored by JSTRA (Japan Ship Technology Research Association) and basically financed by the Nippon Foundation in the 2011 year’s support work called “Phase 2 Framework for Energy Efficiency Optimization of International Seaborne Trade “. We would like to thank both associations for their support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Maritime Research Institute (NMRI), 6-38-1 Shinkawa, Mitaka, Tokyo, 181-0004, Japan

    Masaki Adachi, Hiroyuki Kosaka, Tetsugo Fukuda, Shota Ohashi & Kazuyoshi Harumi

Authors
  1. Masaki Adachi
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  2. Hiroyuki Kosaka
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  3. Tetsugo Fukuda
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  4. Shota Ohashi
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  5. Kazuyoshi Harumi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Masaki Adachi.

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Adachi, M., Kosaka, H., Fukuda, T. et al. Economic analysis of trans-ocean LNG-fueled container ship. J Mar Sci Technol 19, 470–478 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00773-014-0262-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00773-014-0262-5

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