Ship Routing Utilizing Strong Ocean Currents

Abstract

From the Surface Velocity Program (SVP) drifter current data, a detailed and complete track of strong ocean currents in the north-western Pacific is provided using the bin average method. The focus of this study is on the Kuroshio, the strong western boundary current of the North Pacific flowing northward along the east coast of Taiwan and then turning eastward off southern Japan. With its average flow speed of about 2 knots, the Kuroshio can significantly increase the ship s speed for a super-slow-steaming container ship travelling at speeds of 12 knots between the ports of Southeast Asia and Japan. By properly utilizing knowledge of strong ocean currents to follow the Kuroshio on the northbound runs and avoid it on the return trip, considerable fuel can be saved and the transit time can be reduced. In the future, the detailed Kuroshio saving-energy route could be built into electronic chart systems for all navigators and shipping routers.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2013
Accession Number
ADA587298

Entities

People

  • Guan-Yu Chen
  • Peter Cheng Chu
  • Ruo-shan Tseng
  • Yu-chia Chang
  • Yung-ting Shen

Organizations

  • Naval Postgraduate School

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Artificial Satellites
  • Climate Change
  • East China Sea
  • Fuel Consumption
  • Greenhouse Effect
  • Greenhouse Gases
  • Gulf Stream
  • Hong Kong
  • Mathematical Models
  • Measurement
  • Ocean Currents
  • Oceanography
  • Oceans
  • Pacific Ocean

Readers

  • Asian Economic Studies
  • Oceanography.

Technology Areas

  • Microelectronics