From Calm Water to Real Weather: Added Resistance
Wrapping up the calm-water resistance series and opening Phase 2 — added weather resistance, where the real fuel bill is decided.
We have officially wrapped up Phase 1 of our vessel resistance series, where we broke down the physics of Calm Water Resistance (friction, wave-making, form drag etc.).
But as any operator knows, ships don’t sail in towing tanks.
Today, we are kicking off Phase 2: Added Weather Resistance.
Calm water gives us a theoretical baseline, but the open ocean dictates your actual fuel bill. When the weather turns, dynamic environmental forces can destroy even the most optimized theoretical fuel curves.
So, where is that extra fuel actually going?
Swipe through today's carousel as we break down the three main culprits of real-world weather drag:
💨 Added Wind Resistance (The Square Law) 🌊 Added Wave Resistance (Diffraction & Radiation) 🧭 Steering Drag (The Autopilot Tax)
Understanding your calm-water baseline is only step one. Accurately measuring how the environment fights against that baseline is how you actually optimize voyage performance.
Swipe through the breakdown below. Which of these weather factors creates the biggest efficiency gap for your fleet? 👇
An earlier version of this article appeared on LinkedIn.