enginei specified for Tarmac’s latest dredger upgrade

Electronic Fuel Management System

The latest version of the enginei electronic fuel management system (EFMS) from Royston diesel power, has been specified for Tarmac’s Marine business’ City of Westminster aggregate dredger.

The vessel is one of a four-strong fleet of gravel and sand dredgers, which operate mainly in the North Sea and English Channel, supplying Tarmac’s aggregate processing plants on the River Thames and in Southampton.

The vessel

The company is currently rolling out the latest version of enginei across its dredger fleet to provide enhanced fuel monitoring and reporting capabilities.

The 3,914 gt City of Westminster, which was the first in the fleet to be installed with enginei in 2012, will now follow the City of Cardiff, City of Chichester and City of London in receiving the latest version of the technology.

New EFMS is being installed to deliver better long-term operational safety and efficiency performance. Notably, enginei will track and record fuel consumption patterns during the City of Westminster’s stand-by, on-passage and dredging modes, with automated reports produced to identify trends and help the operator to better understand spikes in fuel consumption. This is expected to contribute to optimising fuel usage and maintenance programmes through the provision of engine performance and other important information.

Tarmac is also set to use the data provided by enginei as part of its plans to scope out a new build programme – the information will be used to help optimise future vessel design parameters and performance requirements. enginei uses Coriolis flowmeters and sensors to accurately monitor the fuel being consumed by each of a vessel’s engines, which is tracked against GPS data, voyage details and operational mode. The data is collected, processed and relayed to bridge and engine room-mounted touchscreen monitors to enable the ship’s master to adjust vessel speed and take whatever other actions are needed to maximise efficiency.

City of Westminster

The City of Westminster upgrade is due to be completed by Royston technicians during scheduled maintenance work on the vessel.

Keith Marshman, marine fleet manager at Tarmac, said: “enginei is undoubtedly a beneficial aid in improving dredger fleet management and identifying fleet fuel savings. The quality of the flowmeters is proving to be robust and extremely reliable and it’s great for us to be using new and more advanced technology to help us drive productivity and efficiency. Damian McCann, Royston’s product manager, added: “We are delighted that Tarmac has opted to roll out the latest version of enginei across its fleet. They are already seeing the technology’s benefits and can now look forward to further measurable operational enhancements after the upgrade.”

Tarmac Marine’s team comprises specialists in marine and wharf operations, ship engineering and management, and mineral resources. enginei is compatible with all marine engine types and can be interfaced with new-build engine installations or retrofitted to operating vessel. Bunker monitoring applications are also available.