Future Outlook of Artificial Cavity Application for Reducing Hydrodynamic Resistance of Containerships

Absolute commitment to reduce the impact of greenhouse gas emissions while increasing fuel efficiency and power density requires further enhancement of prime mover characteristics and special coatings, but mostly requires compliance with EEDI (energy efficiency design index) measures. For the container shipping industry this represents significant increases in fuel costs that can be mitigated above all by reduction of power demand, that is, of ship frictional resistance. In this respect, this paper discusses advantages attainable by application of the ACS (air cavity system) technology on the basis of recent KSRC (Krylov State Research Centre) studies. Savings in operating costs yielded by the enhanced propulsion performance for ships fitted with this system are illustrated by a case study of a containership.