Application the results of energy efficiency audit planning and implementation of fishing vessels modernisation

The Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) became mandatory for new ships as well as the Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP) for all ships due to the MEPC 62 (July 2011) along with the adoption of amendments to MARPOL Annex VI by the Parties to the MARPOL Annex VI. This was the first legally binding climate change treaty to be adopted since the Kyoto Protocol. The Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP), which has been obligatory since 2013, did not to cover fishing cutters but triggered the implementation of energy efficiency audits due to fishing limits, high fuel prices, and free freight market. A research team of the Maritime University of Szczecin conducted energy efficiency audits on several fishing vessels operated on the Baltic Sea and provided the results to the shipowners. On their grounds, the shipowners started seeking methods to reduce energy consumption. They began modernizing the vessels using the information collected in the reports on energy audits. Usually, the modernization process is performed in severa stages. Apart from energy recovery installations, fishing vessels were furnished with the latest technologies aimed at the reduction of energy consumption and at making ships greener. The paper presents results of the said process at the selected fishing cutters operating on the Baltic Sea. The paper includes also the recommendations on the directions of the following stages of the audits.