Fuel Price Data Processing for Ship Bunkering Planning

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Solution Overview

Problem

Formulating an accurate and efficient ship bunkering plan is complex due to limited bunkering locations and varying fuel oil prices, leading to potential errors in fuel management during voyages.

Innovation Solution

A data processing device that acquires and displays fuel oil price data for specified bunkering locations along a sailing route, allowing for easy identification and planning of fuel replenishment, including reference prices, correction conditions, and bunkering amounts, thereby simplifying the bunkering planning process.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If manual search and comparison of fuel prices at multiple bunkering locations is performed, then accurate bunkering plan can be formulated, but the task becomes complex and error-prone

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveaccuracy of bunkering planVSAvoidcomplexity of bunkering plan formulation

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system enables automatic acquisition and processing of fuel price data without requiring manual intervention. The data acquisition unit automatically collects fuel prices from multiple bunkering locations, and the calculation unit automatically computes the optimal bunkering plan, eliminating manual search and comparison tasks while maintaining high accuracy

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The patent replaces the manual mechanical process of searching, collecting, and comparing fuel price data with an automated information processing system. The data acquisition unit and calculation unit work together to automatically process fuel price information and generate optimal bunkering plans, substituting human manual operations with computational automation

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

2Reliability

If fuel prices at multiple bunkering locations are manually searched and compared, then appropriate fuel replenishment decisions can be made, but time consumption increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvereliability of fuel managementVSAvoidtime for bunkering plan formulation

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary acquisition and processing of fuel price data from multiple bunkering locations before the actual bunkering decision is needed. The data acquisition unit collects current fuel prices in advance, and the calculation unit pre-computes optimal bunkering plans, allowing operators to make informed decisions quickly without time-consuming manual searches

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The automated system continuously monitors and updates fuel price data from multiple bunkering locations without requiring manual intervention. The calculation unit automatically generates updated bunkering plans based on current prices, enabling rapid adaptation to changing fuel prices while ensuring reliable fuel management

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Data Source

PatentUS10139235B2Data processing device, program, recording medium, and data processing method for assisting formulation of bunkering plan of ship

Publication Date: 2018.11.27 NIPPON YOOSEN KABUSHIKI KAISHA

AI summary

A fuel oil information providing server device acquires a reference fuel oil price at bunkering locations on a sailing route specified by a voyage ID input to a terminal device by a user or at which a ship is able to call from the sailing route, and data indicating conditions for correcting the reference fuel oil price, and specifies a fuel oil price obtained by correcting the reference fuel oil price indicated by the acquired data in accordance with the conditions. Fuel oil information providing server device generates display instruction data for instructing that a specified fuel oil price be displayed as a list along with determination rules for a bunkering amount at one or more bunkering locations, and outputs the data to a terminal device that displays information to be used for formulating a bunkering plan.