Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 saves fuel after switch to Intersleek 900

Cunard has confirmed significant savings on its flagship cruise liner Queen Mary 2 since converting from a silyl-based TBT-free self-polishing copolymer antifouling in November 2008 to International Paint’s fluoropolymer foul release coating Intersleek 900.

From its own detailed studies on the propulsion efficiency of Queen Mary 2, Cunard has confirmed that since the application of the Intersleek 900 system to the vertical sides, vessel efficiency has improved by over 10 percent

Mr. Ronnie Kier, Chief Engineer of Queen Mary 2, explains how this was calculated: “Prior to the drydocking, in order to achieve the necessary speeds to meet our demanding schedule, we would need to utilize all four 14.5 MW diesel generators and supplement that with our 8 MW gas turbine running on gas oil. After the drydocking we only required the four diesel generators, which gave us a direct saving of approximately 36 tonnes of gas oil per day or around $30,000 per day at today’s prices. What is more important to us is that those initial efficiency improvements have been effectively maintained over the 30 months since application.”

The lower fuel consumption seen on Queen Mary 2 since the application of Intersleek 900 represents a reduction in CO2 emissions of over 50,000 tonnes – equivalent to taking 16,000 cars off the road for 12 months.

Cunard’s parent Carnival Corporation is committed to reducing the environmental impact of vessel operations through “practices which set a high standard for excellence and responsibility.” The decision to switch to Intersleek(R)900 was an integral part of a strategic initiative to reduce fuel usage and associated CO2 emissions whilst still maintaining operational schedules. The fact that Intersleek is biocide-free was also an important part of the decision. Carnival first applied Intersleek in 1999 and 50 vessels in the group are coated with Intersleek products. Going forward, the intention is to convert the remainder of the fleet to biocide-free schemes.

May 24, 2011