Ridgebury appoints FuelTrust to assess fuel and operations data

FuelTrust has announced that Ridgebury Tankers has been using its Digital Chemist AI-based system to measure fuel usage, validate emissions reductions and demonstrate its return on investment for scrubbers.

FuelTrust said that Ridgebury has established a carbon baseline for its Suezmax tanker, Ridgebury John Zipser, and assessed improvements in the vessel’s performance following a retrofit in 2019.

Ridgebury appointed FuelTrust to assess fuel and operations data from past years for its tanker, comparing month-by-month and year-by-year performance to establish a baseline for carbon emissions, from which they could measure vessel improvements. The analysis also showed the value of a scrubber retrofit for the vessel and the impact of heavy fuel oil (HFO) fuel quality on carbon emissions.

FuelTrust said that it is now building on this initial project and analysing additional tankers to assess how fuel choice and operational behaviours could reduce emissions. As part of the next phase, FuelTrust will produce an analysis of the relative financial and environmental benefits that could be accrued through the installation and effective operations of a scrubber by model. FuelTrust added that it will also provide insight into optimal HFO outcomes compared to the continued use of very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) without a retrofit.