Brittany Ferries approached Bureau Veritas Solutions (BVS, looking for support in forecasting performance, fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions across their fleet. Brittany Ferries wanted each department to be able to meet CII and EU ETS requirements and, in the longer term, to map out the most efficient vessel utilisation, capacity planning, route planning, retrofit scheduling, timetabling and voyage management fleet-wide.

Focused on the key metrics of vessel speed and fuel consumption, BVS developed a new application and, working with Brittany Ferries, tested its effectiveness. The Fleet Energy and Emissions Forecast tool, which is web-based and uses a theoretical approach validated and calibrated by actual performance data, models the fuel consumption and emissions for every ship. BVS developed ship-specific energy models which, combined with ports and route data, enable forecasting adapted to the decision-making process.

Brittany Ferries can now use the application independently, adjusting parameters to develop detailed scenarios that enable its teams to plan for fleet-wide optimised and efficient operations, thereby reducing fuel consumption, emissions and costs.

Brice Robinson, Manager Naval Projects dept., Brittany Ferries said: "Forecasting is crucial in the decision-making process. This web application gives us the confidence to model and plan individual ship energy requirements and, vitally, make decisions to manage our greenhouse gas emissions and operating costs for different ship and fleet scenarios. We recognise and are excited by the benefits delivered by the BVS web application to optimise route planning to maximise performance and minimise our fuel costs."

Laurent Verney, BVS France Director, Bureau Veritas Solutions Marine & Offshore said: "We are proud to work together with Brittany Ferries on this great project, which uses the latest advances in digital and modelling tools to deliver efficient and sustainable operations. This partnership has brought together our digital expertise with key insights and validation from Brittany Ferries, whose pioneering spirit, enthusiasm and energy were critical success factors in delivering this real-life digital decarbonisation solution."

In parallel to this development BVS has worked and is continuing to work with Brittany Ferries to support operational decision-making with an advanced weather routing solution from software provider Adrena, which was developed with a common R&D process based on CFD calculations and BV's SEECAT ship energy modelling software.

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