n ships engine room, a number of gauging instruments display various important parameters such as level, pressure,

temperature etc. But there are some essential parameters which cannot be read directly through any instrument as
they depend on a number of dynamic factors.
This demands the marine engineer working onboard ships to do some formula based calculations by considering all
those factors and with possible available inputs. Of all the important calculations that are to be done on board ships,
there a few ones which marine engineers must know without fail.
Following are 3 important parameters which are most often required to be calculated by marine engineers for record
keeping:
1. Bunker Calculation:

Bunker terms to fuel oil in maritime industry. Bunker quantity

calculation is the most important calculation which every marine engineer should be familiar with throughout his
career. Bunker fuel, being a high valued product, has to be very carefully and accurately calculated for determining
the quantity.
The volume of definite quantity of bunker increases with increase in temperature whereas its weight remains the
same. For this reason, bunker is always ordered and measured in weight and not by volume.
Also all the energy and efficiency calculations of fuel on board ships are calculated in terms of mass of the fuel rather
than its volume. (Calculation of bunker fuel quantity in weight involves many factors to be considered making it more
complex.)
Mostly, the fourth engineer will be the deputy of the Chief engineer for receiving bunker & measuring the bunker
quantity for maintaining records.
Mentioned below is the procedure for measuring and calculating the bunker quantity:

-> Once the total quantity (tonnes) of bunker fuel to be received is confirmed, take sounding of ships bunker tanks &
calculate the available quantity of fuel oil onboard to formulate a bunkering plan denoting how much tonnes of fuel to
be bunkered on each tank & the tank sequence of bunkering.
-> Before commencing of bunker operations, confirm the temperature at which the bunker is to be received and note
down the standard density of the fuel oil. With this parameters calculate the volume of bunker to be received in each
tank as per bunkering plan and note down the final sounding level of each tank after bunkering using capacity table
for the ease of stopping & change over to next tank.
The basic formula used for calculating the bunker quantity in weight is:
Mass = Volume x Density
-> It is to be noted that in the above formula, the density and volume of bunker fuel should be known at same
temperature.
-> After receiving the bunker, take sounding/ullage of all the bunker tanks using sounding tape and note down the
tank temperature. Use sounding paste in the tape while measuring distillate fuel such as MDO for easy reading.
-> Ship always does not float with even keel so the floating conditions of the ship such as trim and list should be well
noted while taking the sounding of bunker tanks.
-> Every ship is provided with a tank capacity table in which each tank capacity in volume is marked against the
successive levels of sounding/ullage with correction factors under various trim and heel conditions of the ship. The
volume of fuel oil at tank temperature for the corresponding tank sounding is thus measured using tank capacity table,
which gives the actual sounded volume.
-> The density of fuel oil (in kg/m3) at standard reference temperature of 15C is always provided by the supplier in
Bunker Delivery Note. With this the density of fuel oil at tank temperature can be determined using ASTM table or
using software most commonly installed on all ships computer.
The formula used to calculate the Temperature Corrected Density is:
= (Density of Fuel Oil @ 15C) x [1- {(T-15) x 0.00064}]
Where:
T = temperature of oil in bunker tanks in degree celcius,
0.00064 = Correction factor
Since the bunker oil is normally supplied to the vessel at temperature higher then 15C, the formula used for
calculating the bunker quantity in weight will beMetric Tonnes = (Actual Sounder Volume) X (Temperature Corrected Density)

-> The corresponding values of each tank are tabulated for easy reading and the total weight of bunker quantity is
calculated.

2. Specific Fuel Oil Consumption (SFOC):

Specific fuel oil consumption is the measure of mass of fuel consumed per unit time to produce per KW. The marine
engine efficiency is usually determined using the SFOC.
In order to achieve accuracy, the fuel consumption and power developed is always measured over a suitable time
period on a good weather. The formula used for calculating SFOC is:
SFOC (g/kwh) = Mass of fuel consumed per hour / Power developed in KW
-> The readings of flow meter to main engine should be noted over the specified time interval say 1 hour. With the
difference in readings the volume of fuel consumed is obtained. It can also be measured by noting down the HFO
service tank reading provided the oil is being supplied only to main engine.
-> The mass of observed volume of fuel consumed can be determined by following the above said bunker calculation
procedure.
-> The horse power can be measured using dynamometer if fitted on the shaft of the engine which will indicate the
BHP in digital indicator. If not, the horse power can also be calculated using engine rpm and average pump fuel index
with the aid of engine characteristic curve of various sea trials which is supplied by the manufacturer. However the
calorific value of the fuel used for sea trial may differ and hence compensation factor has to be determined to obtain
the accuracy in calculation.

3. Percentage of Slip:

Slip is considered as the difference

between the speed of the engine and actual speed of the ship. It is always calculated in percentage. Positive slip is
influenced by various reasons such as fouled bottom or hull part which offers resistance to the movement of ship,
environmental factors such as water current and wind against the ship direction. Slip may be negative if the ship
speed is influenced by following sea or wind. Engine slip is calculated daily onboard the vessel and recorded in log
book.
Engine distance Observed distance
Percentage of Slip = X 100%
Engine distance

The actual distance (nautical mile) covered by the ship from noon to noon is measured using ships log.

The total revolutions of the propeller from noon to noon is obtained using revolution counter. The engine
distance can be calculated using the pitch of the propeller provided by the manufacturer. Care must be taken
in unit conversion of pitch from meter to nautical mile (in general 1 NM = 1800m).

Engine distance in nautical mile = (Pitch x revolutions per day)

Obtaining the accuracy of value in all the above calculations are always challenging onboard as the parameters
recorded are more sensitive to dynamic conditions of the ship and also depends on various environmental factors.
Over to you
Do you know any other important calculation that can be added to this list?

Let us know in the comments below