Insights

1. Some combinations of vessel size and towing speed give a greater benefit and cost saving compared to that of
desalination technology.
2. The best case among all the possible combination is speed of 5 km/hr and large towing vessel size.
3. The most dominant factor that affects the cost of producing water from iceberg is the size (volume) of the iceberg
followed closely by ratio of conversoin of water from ice and the distance to travel.
4. The iceberg should only be considered if they have volume of around 10,000,000 m3. For volumes of around
1,000,000 m3 or less, it would be better to go with desalination plant.
5. Cost of producing water is not as sensitive to daily rental as it is to iceberg volume.

Exhibit A

The effect of different parameters on the Cost of producing water

+10 Pct
Water Cost (£ /cubic metre)

0.22 0.23 0.24 0.25 0.26 0.27

Volume Of IceBerg

Ice to Water Ratio

Distance from Antartic to Gulf

Daily Rental
Parameter

Tornado Sensitivity Chart

Exhibit B

The following table shows the cost of producing water against towing speed at different ship size

6 £0.7000
Cost of water per cubic metre

5 £0.6000
4 £0.5000
£0.4000
speed km/hr

3
£0.3000
2 £0.2000
1 £0.1000
0 £-

Ship size

Series1 Series2
 Assumptions
1. Volume of iceberg is considered to be the maximum a ship of certain type can tow. (E.g 500,000 m 3 for small)
2. Melting rate for 1st 2000 days is taken as given in the table 2 under 1000km column, for next 1000 days the one
under 2000km, for next 1000days the one under 3000km and for remaining 5600 days the one under >4000km. The
total is then calculated by adding all.
3. The fuel cost in the table 3 had same increments along its row. So fuel cost for towing 500,000 m 3 volume is
calculated by taking percentage of increment.

Strengths of The Model

1. The model can be used for different combinations of towing speed and iceberg size.
2. If there is any additional information available at any time, it can easily be incorporated by just adding in different
drop down lists or in relevant cell.