Fuel for ship

[mcsscott]

We just came off Radiance last week and we stopped in St. Croix for fuel. Captain Rune Lokling said they were going to take on about one million dollars of fuel.

 

He also indicated we did not have to stop and the ship could run for two and a half to three weeks without refueling. The most interesting stat was that he said it took 60 gallons to move the ship one foot (12 inches). I fould that absolulely incredible.

 

Scott

[FitzLA]

And I though $50 to fill up my car was bad! :D

[Patfan]

Considering it would take 60 gallons of fuel to move the ship 1 foot (12 inches) it would take 316,800 gallons to move the ship 1 statute mile. That would mean that 1 million gallons would only move the ship 3.15 statute miles. I would have to think that the 60 gallons of fuel was only refering to the first foot and the fuel consumption would be greatly reduced once the ship was under way. just a guess.

[sally r]

We were on the Vision a few years back cruising from Vancouver to Hawaii. About half way there we had to go back to San Francisco as a crew member was ill. I was frantic thinking we would run out of fuel. I was told that the ship could cruise back and forth to Hawaii several times without refueling. Just amazing.

[1corona4u]

Here's an interesting article;

 

http://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=62&Itemid=42

[CruisinDawn]

Darn, I use to have the time it took to fill up the Grand Princess for sailing but deleted it. (Thinking 6 hours) Great trivia question!! Had it all ready for my brother in law that would ask how much cheese Kraft had in storage at all times for Kraft Macaroni & Cheese!! Ok that was desperate right up there with how many bumps are on a basketball :D

 

BonVoyage

Dawna

[TPKeller]

Here's an interesting article;

 

http://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=62&Itemid=42

Very interesting article. Several quotes from it are potentially troubling:

 

"He (Senior Vice President of Technical Operations at Carnival Cruise Lines, Roberto Martinoli) believes savings can be as much as 10 percent over recent consumption but only over a period of time, by putting a variety of measures into place, including changing itineraries or the sequence of ports or spending less time in a port, allowing a slower cruising speed to the next port."

 

I would be unhappy to lose two or three hours in port, just because they want to drive slower to the next one!

 

"He (Lorenzo Malvarosa, CEO of V. Ships Leisure) said that savings can be significant if a captain runs the distance between two ports at a steady 17 knots rather than starting out at 21 knots to make sure he gets there on time and then slowing down the last few miles." So in other words, be prepared to be late more often...

 

And from Captain Burkhard Mueller, vice president of marine operations at AIDA Cruises, "We also monitor stabilizer usage. Our captains are instructed not to use the stabilizers more than necessary."

 

Better stock up on the meclizine!

 

Theron

[Capt_BJ]

my last ship, at full speed, about 28 mph, burned 3500 gallons an hour...

 

we didn't run that speed much....we'd burn a full load in less than 3 days

[Weez]

my last ship, at full speed, about 28 mph, burned 3500 gallons an hour...

 

we didn't run that speed much....we'd burn a full load in less than 3 days

 

Thats interesting info, thanks for the little tidbit :)

 

BTW: How big was the ship and what was the fuel capacity?

[SunnieD]

When I was on Serenade, they filled up in St. Croix and pax went ashore for a parade/carnial at the end of the pier. The staff said they stop there every other week and get a discount on fuel for bringing cruise pax there for the evening. Bringing US traveler's dollars. Due to political unrest, cruise ships have stopped using this as a port. Crime is up on that island. My friends in-laws live there. Basically tops off the tank over the course of 6-8 hours via tanker ship pulled up alongside. They were right outside my balcony all evening. No smoking on deck at that point!

[Capt_BJ]

Thats interesting info, thanks for the little tidbit :)

 

BTW: How big was the ship and what was the fuel capacity?

 

3500 tons

36,000 shaft horsepower

around 210,000 gal in round numbers (plus some avgas)

 

small by cruise (& Navy) standards - but lots of power for the size as compared to std merchant/cruise