Speed Through Water: Fuel Optimisation with Wavex

Miros unveils Speed Through Water by Wavex. Delivering highly accurate data without the need for any submerged equipment, and with better accuracy than traditional instrumentation.

Surface currents commonly found on the world’s oceans mean that a vessel’s GPS speed can be quite different from the actual speed of the vessel through the water. Since the performance of large vessels is strongly related to the speed of the vessel relative to the water, accurate measurement of the speed through water of moving vessels is useful for a variety of applications. For example, speed through water can be of use when considering vessel fuel optimisation, hull performance, docking and navigation in constrained areas. When considering fuel consumption per day, accurate speed measurements are essential for avoiding sub-optimal speeds and large additional costs. This results from the fact that just a small variation in speed can greatly impact fuel efficiency.

Traditional methods of measuring speed through water – speed logs – are associated with a variety of challenges stemming from the fact that they are immersed in water. With Miros Speed Through Water, such complications can be avoided, since no underwater equipment is required. Additionally, cleaner and more accurate data can be collected. This is all thanks to recent innovations and developments to the Miros Wavex system. As a result, the cost-saving potential of the new Miros Speed Through Water functionality is significant.

During an interview with Rune Gangeskar, Senior Sensor Development Manager at Miros, a clear explanation of the benefits of Miros Speed Through Water was outlined,

“It can mean a decreased daily fuel consumption of tens of tons for a single ship.”

Staying Dry: Speed Through Water from Miros Wavex

Thanks to new and improved algorithms, speed through water and surface currents can now be measured from moving vessels (as well as from fixed locations) based on X-band radar images. Furthermore, this can be achieved without any need for calibration.

Wavex provides a “dry current measurement solution”. It delivers highly accurate data without the need for any equipment to be installed or maintained underwater. Wavex can be connected to a dedicated X-band radar, or to an existing one. So it’s easy to incorporate into existing operations.

With Miros’ Speed Through Water solution, the challenges associated with traditional underwater equipment and inaccurate data can be made a thing of the past.