Toward a review of innovative solutions in the ship design and performance management for energy-saving and environmental protection

The fuel oil price fluctuation, stiff competition in the shipping industry, and continuous change in the rules related to the environmental protection, have rushed the owner, shipyards and classification societies to adopt genius solution to increase the ship efficiency, to optimize the energy consumption and to reduce the greenhouse gases (GHG's) emission. The maritime players came with innovative ideas in the ship design and ship performance management. These innovative solutions have been implemented, i.e. Non-ballast design, retrofit of the bulbous bow, retrofit of the propeller, low-steaming, air lubrication system and use of clean energy. This paper reviews these innovative solutions and presents their impact on the energy saving and environmental protection.