OSCAR PROPULSION MARINE AND ECONAVIS SELECTED TO LEAD U.S STUDY ON INTEGRATED PROPULSION OPTIMISATION
Oscar Propulsion Marine and EcoNavis Solutions have been selected by a U.S Federal Government agency to lead a federally backed project aimed at demonstrating how integrated hydrodynamic optimisation can reduce fuel consumption and Underwater Radiated Noise (URN) in offshore vessels and workboats operating in the Gulf of Mexico.
The award, valued at US$500,000, will support a full-scale retrofit and validation programme on a designated workboat, with the objective of establishing a repeatable framework for improving propulsion efficiency while addressing increasing scrutiny around URN.
Rather than assessing individual technologies in isolation, the project will evaluate the combined impact of multiple energy-saving devices applied as an integrated system.
The approach reflects a broader shift within the industry towards whole-vessel performance, particularly as operators face more stringent emissions and environmental rules along with rising fuel costs.
The programme is designed to move beyond theoretical gains and deliver measurable operational results.
The industry is under pressure from both fuel costs and regulation. What owners need are solutions that are not only technically effective, but commercially realistic. This project is about proving both.
The figures will be validated through controlled before-and-after sea trials, including direct measurement of shaft power and acoustic output.
The work will begin with computational modelling to establish a performance baseline for the selected vessel, followed by iterative design optimisation using vessel-specific flow analysis.
Manufacturing, installation and full-scale trials will then be carried out, with all performance data collected and verified using recognised international standards, including ISO 15016 for fuel efficiency and ISO 17208-1 for underwater noise measurement.
This project allows us to validate, at full scale, how an integrated set of hydrodynamic technologies can improve propulsion efficiency and reduce underwater noise in real operating conditions. The focus is not on a single device, but on how the entire propulsion train can be optimised and verified through data.
