PROPELLER SLIP:

When the vessel is moving ahead the propeller exerts pressure on the water to create the forward
motion. propeller slip occurs because water is not a solid medium and there is some slip related
to it.
Slip may be considered as the difference between the speed of the vessel and the speed of the
engine. It is always expressed as a percentage.
Propeller Slip = Actual forward speed/ Theoretical forward speed.
The calculated value of slip will be increased when the wind and sea are ahead and if the vessel
has a fouled bottom. The differing values of slip are especially noticeable after a vessel has been
cleaned in drydock.
Theoretically a vessel should never have negative slip, but this may occur in one or more of the
following conditions:-
-> A strong following sea.
-> A following current or a strong following wind.

Example:- During 24 hrs of a period ship's propeller shaft was observed to turn 87 RPM. the pitch
of the propeller was 3.8 m. the observed ships speed over ground was 10 knts. Calculate the
value of the propeller slip during this period. ( A nautical mile equals 1852 m.)
Solution: Slip (percent) = Engine distance - Ship's distance/ Engine's distance X 100.
Engine distance = Pitch X RPM X 60 X 24 / 1852.
= (3.8 X 87 X 60 X 24)/1852
=257.054.
Ship's distance = 24 X 10
= 240.
Therefore slip = (257.054-240)/257.054 x 100
= +6.6%

This demands the marine engineer working onboard ships to do some formula based
calculations by considering all those factors and with possible available inputs. Of all
the important calculations that are to be done on board ships, there a few ones which
marine engineers must know without fail.

Following are 3 important parameters which are most often required to be calculated
by marine engineers for record keeping:

1. Bunker Calculation:

Bunker terms to fuel oil in maritime industry. Bunker quantity calculation is the most
important calculation which every marine engineer should be familiar with throughout
his career. Bunker fuel, being a high valued product, has to be very carefully and
accurately calculated  for determining the quantity.
The volume of definite quantity of bunker increases with increase in temperature
whereas its weight remains the same. For this reason, bunker is always ordered and
measured in weight and not by volume.

Also all the energy and efficiency calculations of fuel on board ships are calculated in
terms of mass of the fuel rather than its volume. (Calculation of bunker fuel quantity
in weight involves many factors to be considered making it more complex.)

Mostly, the fourth engineer will be the deputy of the Chief engineer for receiving
bunker & measuring the bunker quantity for maintaining records.

Mentioned below is the procedure for measuring and calculating the bunker quantity:

-> Once the total quantity (tonnes) of bunker fuel to be received is confirmed, take
sounding of ship’s bunker tanks & calculate the available quantity of fuel oil onboard
to formulate a bunkering plan denoting how much tonnes of fuel to be bunkered on
each tank & the tank sequence of bunkering.

-> Before commencing of bunker operations, confirm the temperature at which the

bunker is to be received and note down the standard density of the fuel oil. With this
parameters calculate the volume of bunker to be received in each tank as per
bunkering plan and note down the final sounding level of each tank after bunkering
using capacity table for the ease of stopping & change over to next tank.

The basic formula used for calculating the bunker quantity in weight is:

Mass = Volume x Density

-> It is to be noted that in the above formula, the density and volume of bunker fuel
should be known at same temperature.

-> After receiving the bunker, take sounding/ullage of all the bunker tanks using
sounding tape and note down the tank temperature. Use sounding paste in the tape
while measuring distillate fuel such as MDO for easy reading.

-> Ship always does not float with even keel so the floating conditions of the ship
such as trim and list should be well noted while taking the sounding of bunker tanks.
-> Every ship is provided with a tank capacity table in which each tank capacity in
volume is marked against the successive levels of sounding/ullage with correction
factors under various trim and heel conditions of the ship. The volume of fuel oil at
tank temperature for the corresponding tank sounding is thus measured using tank
capacity table, which gives the actual sounded volume.

-> The density of fuel oil (in kg/m3) at standard reference temperature of 15⁰C is
always provided by the supplier in Bunker Delivery Note. With this the density of fuel
oil at tank temperature can be determined using ASTM table or using software most
commonly installed on all ship’s computer.

The formula used to calculate the Temperature Corrected Density is:

= (Density of Fuel Oil @ 15⁰C) x [1- {(T-15) x 0.00064}]

Where:
T = temperature of oil in bunker tanks in degree celcius,
0.00064 = Correction factor

Since the bunker oil is normally supplied to the vessel at temperature higher
then 15⁰C, the formula used for calculating the bunker quantity in weight will be-

Metric Tonnes =  (Actual Sounder Volume) X (Temperature Corrected Density)

-> The corresponding values of each tank are tabulated for easy reading and the total
weight of bunker quantity is calculated.
2.  Specific Fuel Oil Consumption (SFOC):

Specific fuel oil consumption is the measure of mass of fuel consumed per unit time
to produce per KW. The marine engine efficiency is usually determined using the
SFOC.

In order to achieve accuracy, the fuel consumption and power developed is always
measured over a suitable time period on a good weather. The formula used for
calculating SFOC is:

SFOC (g/kwh) = Mass of fuel consumed per hour / Power developed in KW

-> The readings of flow meter to main engine should be noted over the specified time
interval say 1 hour. With the difference in readings the volume of fuel consumed is
obtained. It can also be measured by noting down the HFO service tank reading
provided the oil is being supplied only to main engine.

-> The mass of observed volume of fuel consumed can be determined by following

the above said bunker calculation procedure.

-> The horse power can be measured using dynamometer if fitted on the shaft of the
engine which will indicate the BHP in digital indicator. If not, the horse power can also
be calculated using engine rpm and average pump fuel index with the aid of engine
characteristic curve of various sea trials which is supplied by the manufacturer.
However the calorific value of the fuel used for sea trial may differ and hence
compensation factor has to be determined to obtain the accuracy in calculation.

3. Percentage of Slip:

Slip is considered as the difference between the speed of the engine and actual
speed of the ship. It is always calculated in percentage. Positive slip is influenced by
various reasons such as fouled bottom or hull part which offers resistance to the
movement of ship, environmental factors such as water current and wind against the
ship direction. Slip may be negative if the ship speed is influenced by following sea or
wind. Engine slip is calculated daily onboard the vessel and recorded in log book.
Engine distance – Observed distance

Percentage of Slip = ————————————————– X 100%

Engine distance

 The actual distance (nautical mile) covered by the ship from noon to noon is
measured using ship’s log.

 The total revolutions of the propeller from noon to noon is obtained using
revolution counter. The engine distance can be calculated using the pitch of
the propeller provided by the manufacturer. Care must be taken in unit
conversion of pitch from meter to nautical mile (in general 1 NM = 1800m).

Engine distance in nautical mile = (Pitch x revolutions per day)

Obtaining the accuracy of value in all the above calculations are always challenging
onboard as the parameters recorded are more sensitive to dynamic conditions of the
ship and also depends on various environmental factors.

Over to you…

Do you know any other important calculation that can be added to this list?

Let us know in the comments below.

References & Image Credits:

M.V. Jag Rahul – Ship’s tank capacity plan manual.

M.T. Jag Preeti – MITSUI B&W – Operation & Data Manual

Reeds Naval Architecture for Marine engineers.