Scientific Journals Zeszyty Naukowe

of the Maritime University of Szczecin Akademii Morskiej w Szczecinie

2023, 75 (147), 68–78 Received: 11.06.2023
ISSN 2392-0378 (Online) Accepted: 26.06.2023
DOI: 10.17402/575 Published: 30.09.2023

Analysis of passenger ships activity in the oil and

gas offshore shipping sector in the North Sea

Dariusz Czerwiński1, Adam Kiersztyn2, Sławomir Przyłucki3,

Aneta Oniszczuk-Jastrząbek4, Ernest Czermański5
1
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3642-1929
2
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5222-8101
3
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9565-3802
4
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4268-0011
5
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2114-8093

1,2,3
Lublin University of Technology, Department of Computer Science
4,5
University of Gdańsk, Faculty of Economics
Department of Maritime Transport and Seaborne Trade
e-mail: 1d.czerwinski@pollub.pl, 2a.kiersztyn@pollub.pl, 3s.przylucki@pollub.pl,
4
a.oniszczuk-jastrzabek@ug.edu.pl, 5ernest.czermanski@ug.edu.pl

corresponding author

Keywords: offshore fleet, offshore sector, AIS, passenger shipping, oil & gas offshore sector, ship utilization
efficiency
JEL Classification: R4, D470, L91, 0320
Abstract
Maritime and coastal areas are the lifeblood of many countries. They are vital to the prosperity of countries
because they provide trade routes, regulate the climate, are a source of organic and inorganic resources and
energy, and provide a place for the public to live and relax. Increasingly, however, there are divergences and
barriers to the use of marine areas. On the one hand, available and developed technology and knowledge en-
able increasingly improved use of the sea. On the other hand, the combined effect of these activities leads to
conflicts of interest and the deterioration of the marine environment. The purpose of this study is to analyze
the feasibility of using automatic identification system (AIS) maritime traffic data, in terms of its suitability,
to correctly assess the utilization of the potential of a specific fleet within the offshore shipping industry. In
addition, the authors undertake the task of determining to what extent activities relating to the GPS position of
the ship, ship type (i.e., cargo or passenger), ship status (i.e., aground, anchored, moored, not under command,
restricted maneuverability, underway sailing, or underway using its engine), ship draught, service speed, total
engine power, and deadweight constitute areas and methods for optimizing the use of the offshore fleet under
all the conditions previously described that limit this optimization. Given the stated goal, this paper uses both
a literature review procedure and statistical methods to conduct a comparative analysis.

Introduction and aquaculture). The sector has its own unique

characteristics and requirements that distinguish it
The offshore shipping sector is a specialized seg- from other shipping segments. These specificities
ment of the shipping industry that focuses on sup- certainly include geographical location. It must be
porting offshore activities and operations such as oil considered that coastal shipping operations occur in
and gas exploration and extraction, offshore wind remote and often difficult environments such as open
farms, and other marine projects (including research seas, deep waters, and offshore installations. This

68 Scientific Journals of the Maritime University of Szczecin 75 (147)

 Analysis of passenger ships activity in the oil and gas offshore shipping sector in the North Sea

requires specialized vessels and equipment capable natural gas field is depleted. The construction and
of operating in these specific conditions, includ- maintenance of offshore wind farms is highly depen-
ing ice-class vessels, jack-ups, heavy lift vessels dent on weather conditions and the project sched-
(HLVs), anchor handling tugs (AHTSs), platform ule. While the construction phase requires less daily
supply vessels (PSVs), cable laying vessels (CLVs), transfer of technicians (most are accommodated on
crew transport vessels (CTVs), and accommoda- board SOVs or accommodation vessels), it is already
tion vessels. In addition, there are a number of oth- important for the operation and maintenance (O&M)
er highly specialized offshore vessels with smaller phase of the daily transfer of crew with respect to
applications. Another function supporting offshore weather conditions and forecasts. Consideration
activities is the offshore vessels, which play a key should also be given to a time charter-based form
role in supporting various offshore activities. They of cooperation between an offshore developer and
transport personnel and equipment and deliver all a shipowner who provides the services of a specific
kinds of structural components, parts, and machinery vessel, which ensures that the vessel is adequately
to and from offshore installations, including oil rigs, crewed and in proper working order but with author-
platforms, and wind farms. These vessels may also ity to delegate all operational decisions (i.e., current
provide support services such as anchor handling, destination, embarkation and disembarkation of pas-
towing, subsea construction, and maintenance. In sengers, port of departure and/or arrival, cargo taken
addition, maritime shipping often involves dynamic on board, speed, waiting at quay or jetty, etc.) to the
operations that require flexibility and adaptability. master by a representative (often referred to as the
Ships may have to perform multiple tasks in a single ‘marine operations center’) of the charterer (i.e., the
operation, such as resupply, crew transfer, and emer- developer).
gency response. They need to be equipped with spe- These specificities highlight the unique challeng-
cialized equipment, including cranes, winches, and es and requirements of the shipping sector. Compa-
wheelhouses, to facilitate these operations, as well nies operating in this sector must have the expertise,
as to provide the crew with appropriate services – equipment, and a strong focus on safety, security,
i.e., accommodation and transport capacity. Due to quality, and environmental sustainability to success-
the remote and demanding nature of offshore opera- fully support offshore operations.
tions, safety, security, and environmental issues are
of primary importance. Offshore companies must Voyage optimization methods as key tools
comply with strict safety regulations and implement for improving the economic efficiency
robust safety management systems to protect per- of shipowner operations
sonnel, assets, and the environment. Vessels must
be equipped with safety equipment and emergency In the area of ship operational optimization, sev-
response capabilities, and must comply with inter- eral methods and procedures are now known, the
national maritime and marine standards, as well as application of which leads to specific optimization
ships’ flag obligations. goals, with the reduction of operational costs as the
The shipping industry has witnessed signifi- primary objective and, less frequently, the reduc-
cant technological advances that meet the chang- tion of negative environmental impacts, especially
ing demands of offshore operations. This includes by reducing atmospheric emissions. The main solu-
the development of specialized vessels, advanced tion that has been used for decades is slow steaming,
navigation and positioning systems, remotely oper- i.e., the operation of ships by reducing speed and,
ated vehicles (ROVs) for subsea operations, and thus, progressively reducing fuel consumption (and,
improved communication and monitoring systems. therefore, fuel costs). This is the use of a function
Seasonality and cyclicality are other factors that of fuel consumption and ship speed that is similar
determine the specificity of shipping. Shipping to a logarithmic function; hence, in the upper-speed
activities can be affected by seasonal (mainly year- ranges, it enables a significant reduction in fuel con-
ly-based) and cyclical factors (repeatable works and sumption at the expense of a relatively small reduc-
services to be delivered to the marine constructions). tion in speed (Cariou, 2011). The question then aris-
For example, in the oil and gas industry, exploration es: Is slow steaming applicable to offshore shipping?
and extraction activities can vary according to oil In addition to this solution, there are also more
prices, market demand, and resource availability. On complex solutions based on information systems.
the other hand, once oil or gas production has start- As Czermański has shown, there are now solu-
ed, it cannot be easily discontinued before the oil or tions whose application leads to both objectives

Zeszyty Naukowe Akademii Morskiej w Szczecinie 75 (147) 69

 Dariusz Czerwiński, Adam Kiersztyn, Sławomir Przyłucki, Aneta Oniszczuk-Jastrząbek, Ernest Czermański

by reducing fuel consumption (Czermański, 2019). offshore shipping, as a shipowner service provider,
From a financial point of view, lower fuel consump- has a complementary function to the offshore invest-
tion generates lower voyage costs for the ship but ment in progress – an extraction platform or wind
also results in lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emis- farm that has a fixed location, which prevents or sig-
sions into the atmosphere. An important aspect that nificantly limits the use of maritime space for alter-
cannot be overlooked is the reduction of bunker fuel native navigation solutions. In addition, this effect
consumption costs since bunker fuel consumption is reinforced by the economic factor of fuel minimi-
costs typically account for 50% (Notteboom, 2006), zation, which is imposed by the developer (as he is
or even more than 60% (Golias et al., 2009), of a con- the one who most often, according to the time char-
tainer ship’s total operating costs. These include vari- ter, bears its costs) and thus, in most cases, does not
ous types of navigation systems that optimize the sea allow a significant deviation from the course that is
voyage considering navigational and market condi- the shortest. Another factor exacerbates the issue –
tions (e.g., fuel management, voyage weather plan- namely, the relatively short distances of the location
ning, and crew eco-driving training). The process of of developments from land and ports (in the offshore
weather optimization of a sea route involves consid- wind sector, it is in the range of 20–80 Nm, slightly
ering all historical data and forecasts for a given sea more in the oil and gas sector). The short distances
body of the future sea voyage to best align the route also generate further logistical challenges, namely,
with the main objective of minimizing energy (fuel) the numerous deliveries of construction components
consumption, including, in particular, consideration and workers for the construction or servicing of the
of wind strength and direction and wave action. The offshore installations concerned, whose sea tran-
influence of sailing speed on bunker fuel consump- sit times are strongly determined by the paradigm
tion in shipping analysis has been written about, for of being as short as possible. This does not offer
example, by Christiansen et al. (Christiansen et al., many opportunities to adjust the courses (and, thus,
2013), Meng et al. (Meng et al., 2013), and Brouer et lengthen them) of ships for fuel reduction effects,
al. (Brouer, Desaulniers & Pisinger, 2014), including since both the goods carried to the installation and
when considering fleet deployment (Álvarez, 2009). the workers sent to it cost the developer the same or
In practice, this refers to avoiding storms, strong more in terms of hours.
winds, and high waves, which increase the vessel’s Noteworthy at this point is that one of the most
resistance to motion and result in either a reduc- important factors for the ship owner, as well as for
tion in speed at the same engine rpm or the need to the offshore developer, is the efficiency of the fleet
increase engine rpm to maintain a constant cruising involved in a project. Research on economic efficien-
speed. Methods for selecting the optimum speed cy in relation to shipping only started to be conducted
were described by Mulder and Dekker (Mulder in the early 1990s. This was when the first studies of
& Dekker, 2014) in their study. Tests performed over this issue in shipping appeared, in which the appli-
an entire year on a specific vessel showed that, by cability of revenue management to freight or vessel
using a suitable weather optimization system, it was capacity and price in liner shipping was investigated
possible to reduce fuel consumption by 4% over the (Brooks & Button, 1994; Maragos, 1994). The main
year, with the potential to increase this reduction to obstacle to revenue management in liner shipping is
8%. An extension of this technology also involves that container ship capacity is a complex function
considering sea currents, which are fairly well- of stowage rules, cargo composition, and port call
known and described by oceanographers. In extreme sequence (Jensen & Ajspur, 2022). Indeed, opera-
cases, this can help to increase speed by 3 kn while tional constraints significantly limit vessel capacity,
maintaining the same number of propeller revolu- as pointed out by Delgado (Delgado, 2013). Current-
tions, compared to traveling in the same conditions ly, many studies on revenue management in liner
but without the help of a sea current in the direction shipping focus on container slot allocation, i.e., the
of the voyage. allocation of available container slots of a contain-
However, offshore shipping also shows signif- er ship fleet to incoming container traffic demand
icant differences from other shipping segments in (Wang, Meng & Du, 2015, p. 142). As such, revenue
this respect, since it is based on a separation of deci- management includes elements of demand forecast-
sion-making between the ship’s captain, represent- ing, service pricing, and capacity allocation to dif-
ing the interests of the shipowner and the develop- ferent routes to facilitate transport. It even includes
er acting in his own interests. In addition, there is designing the correct network to maximize profit or
the factor of entanglement in space. This is because deciding the size of the fleet already at a strategic

70 Scientific Journals of the Maritime University of Szczecin 75 (147)

 Analysis of passenger ships activity in the oil and gas offshore shipping sector in the North Sea

level (Ting & Tzeng, 2004; Song & Dong, 2012). by an average of 10–15% per year. The segment is
The service network should consist of a set of routes, also influenced by new demand for specialized ves-
the allocation of ships to routes, the sailing speed of sels, for example, the construction of offshore wind
ships on each route, and the allocation of cargo on farms. Demand for larger offshore vessels and more
the routes. Mulder and Dekker presented a cost-sav- technically advanced, high-performance vessels to
ing model that is obtainable by solving the network support safe operations in harsh environments is also
design problem in an integrated manner (Mulder expected to increase. Currently, offshore support
& Dekker, 2014). The disadvantage of this method vessels are the fastest-growing vessel type in the off-
is the dependence on the global economy since the shore segment. Strong global pressure and attention
shipowners’ margins are strongly dependent on the to environmental protection, as well as regulations
current market situation. In microeconomic terms, it to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, are likely to
is not uncommon for shipowners to undertake char- increase demand in this market and accelerate tech-
ters at, or even slightly below, the break-even point nology development (Report Shipping, 2020). It is
but with other objectives in mind – e.g., the transfer important to bear in mind that, in line with the gen-
of a vessel to a more attractive region with greater eral trend, the offshore industry, such as other indus-
economic potential (and the shipowner then mini- tries, will focus on reducing energy demand, using
mizes the costs of this transfer by receiving partial alternative energy sources, and employing energy
coverage of these costs from the shipper), or when more efficiently. This will result in several changes
the freight market is in crisis and losses are mini- in the structure of the fleet and outline the direction
mized (i.e., in the zone between the company’s clo- in which they are heading. In terms of clean ener-
sure point and the BEP). gy and energy security, it is necessary to look for
new innovative solutions (Oniszczuk-Jastrząbek,
Characters of the offshore industry Czermański & Kowalik, 2021). The development
of the offshore fleet in 2012 and 2020 is shown in
The offshore market is driven by high oil pric- Figure 1.
es and investment in offshore oil exploration and There are many different types of boats that pro-
extraction. Existing resources, i.e., onshore and in vide services to the offshore industry. Among these
shallow waters, are depleting, and new discoveries are (Barrett, 2008):
are being made in deeper and more challenging envi- • Anchor handling, towing, and supply. Anchor han-
ronments, such as Brazil, West and East Africa, the dling towing supply (AHTS) vessels tow drilling
Arctic, and Southeast Asia. Compared to many car- rigs from one location to another and are equipped
go ships, offshore support vessels need to have good with powerful winches that are used to lift and
seaworthiness and maneuverability. Therefore, they position the rig’s anchors. In addition, many can
tend to be small, have low cargo capacity, and oper- carry moderate quantities of consumables, such
ate close to their land base, making frequent voy- as drilling fluid or drill pipe, and support offshore
ages (Erikstad & Levander, 2012). Overall invest- construction projects.
ment in offshore operations is estimated to increase • Offshore supply vessels. Offshore supply vessels
over the next 10–20 years and is expected to grow (OSVs) deliver drilling materials such as mud,

Support/safety 3034
2159

Anchor handling/tug supply 4652

3734

Offshore tug/supply ship 1134

964

Platform supply ship 5659

4117

Crew/supply vessel 455

384

0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000

2020 2012

Figure 1. Development of the offshore fleet (forecast included) (Report shipping 2020, p. 14)

Zeszyty Naukowe Akademii Morskiej w Szczecinie 75 (147) 71

 Dariusz Czerwiński, Adam Kiersztyn, Sławomir Przyłucki, Aneta Oniszczuk-Jastrząbek, Ernest Czermański

dry cement, fuel, potable water, drill pipe, casing tracking (LRIT), and a computerized information
pipe, and many other materials to drilling rigs. exchange system (SafeSeaNet) (Kopacz, Morgaś
• Crew boats transport personnel to, from, and & Urbański, 2007).
between oil rigs and offshore platforms. Coastal radar stations are the primary source of
• Standby/rescue vessels. These typically operate information on the traffic situation in port areas. The
in the North Sea due to regulatory requirements. basic prerequisite for radar guidance in a VTS sys-
These vessels are required to remain in the vicin- tem is the ability to detect an object by radar and
ity of rigs and platforms to provide emergency then distinguish it against echoes from fixed objects,
response services such as personnel rescue, fire- other vessels, and interference. If these conditions
fighting, and first aid. are not met, information on the movement of ves-
• Other types of vessels. There are a variety of other sels will be insufficient for the system to function
types of vessels used by the oil and gas industry: correctly. The ability to accurately detect and dis-
Utility/Workboats (which perform a great deal tinguish a maneuvering object in a port consists of
of work in support of offshore construction proj- several elements. The greatest problem for port sys-
ects), survey vessels (which collect geophysical tems based on radar technologies is object detection
data), well stimulation vessels (which perform (Galor, 2013).
fracturing and acidizing of producing wells), and According to the International Convention for the
multi-purpose supply vessels (MPSV) that can Safety of Life at Sea: SOLAS 74, which entered into
provide a combination of remote subsea inter- force on 1 July 2002, all ships that are 300 tonnes
vention services, remote operated vehicle (ROV) displacement and above must be equipped with ship-
operations, deep-water lifting and installations, board automatic ship identification system kits. The
delivery of supplies, firefighting, and oil spill basic components of such an AIS system are: the AIS
recovery. coastal stations; the AIS ship stations, which should
In addition, there are other boats that perform transmit information automatically to an appropri-
maintenance work, pollution control, and diving ately equipped shore station, to another ship and to
support. an aircraft, which includes data identifying the ship,
i.e., its type, position, course and speed, navigational
Tools for tracking ship traffic status, type of cargo carried, and safety data, which
includes automatically receiving the same type of
Infomatics tools, including AIS, act as the most information from other AIS-equipped ships, mon-
relevant means of measuring and monitoring vessels itoring their positions, tracking their movements,
in motion and, on this basis, produce analyses, infer- and exchanging information with shore stations; the
ences, and recommendations for optimization. The AIS local area network information center (C. AIS);
primary purpose of developing ship guidance and the stations of AIS supporting systems (GNSS and
traffic management systems is to improve the safe- GMDSS stations) (Kopacz, Morgaś & Urbański,
ty level of shipping and inland navigation. All tools 2007).
and systems are based on precise ship data from the The ship reporting system (SRS) requires well-de-
time of operation, such as position and direction fined procedures for reporting a ship, i.e., transmit-
of voyage, speed, draught, trim, wind strength and ting information to the coastal marine services (the
direction, and sea state. As written in the majori- port, VTS, SRS reporting system stations, etc.). They
ty of works, in addition to improved safety levels, define when and to whom reports should be transmit-
an increase in the fluidity of ship traffic has been ted, what they should contain, and how their content
achieved and, therefore, significant financial bene- should be structured (formatted). These systems con-
fits resulting from the port’s fast handling of ships tribute to the safety of shipping, and their purpose
(Galor, 2013). The European vessel traffic moni- is to watch over maritime traffic. Ship reporting is
toring and information system (VTMIS) covers all a prerequisite for assistance – depending on the laws
sea areas of the member states and consists of the of the country, ship reporting may be voluntary or
VTMIS systems of the European Union’s member mandatory (Kopacz, Morgaś & Urbański, 2007).
states. VTMIS consists of several systems that are The purpose of the maritime assistance system
its components, namely, vessel traffic surveillance (MAS) is to: receive reports, recommendations, and
systems (VTS), automatic identification systems notifications resulting from requirements established
(AIS), ship reporting systems (SRS), maritime assis- by the IMO; monitor the situation of a ship if its
tance systems (MAS), long-range identification and report indicates that an incident involving this ship

72 Scientific Journals of the Maritime University of Szczecin 75 (147)

 Analysis of passenger ships activity in the oil and gas offshore shipping sector in the North Sea

may result in the need to assist it; act as a point of maritime traffic data in terms of its suitability to
contact between the master of the ship and the coastal accurately assess the utilization of the potential of
state concerned. The ship’s situation, in which MAS a specific fleet within the offshore shipping industry.
should participate, does not require the rescue of This assessment includes a typology of the opera-
people. The need for MAS participation is generated tional parameters of a given ship, or the entire fleet of
by the following events: the ship has been involved a shipowner in relation to the potential they present
in a maritime incident that should have been report- and in relation to other periods and assignments the
ed, but the ship’s seaworthiness to continue its voy- ships have previously performed. It is the differences
age has been preserved; the ship requires assistance in the way that these vessels operate that provide the
but is not in distress; the ship is in distress, but the starting point for conclusions regarding areas and
people on board have already been rescued (Kopacz, methods of optimizing the use of the offshore fleet
Morgaś & Urbański, 2007). under all the conditions previously described that
The immediate cause of the LRIT long-range limit this optimization.
identification and tracking system was the 11 Sep- The research was conducted based on selected
tember 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade features from the two databases described below.
Center. The United States Coast Guard (USCG) The authors’ interest focused on the following fea-
proposed the idea of LRIT to simultaneously track tures: GPS position of the ship, ship type (cargo or
50,000 different ships worldwide. The system was passenger), ship status (aground, anchored, moored,
developed at the initiative of the IMO to facilitate not under command, restricted maneuverability,
control, international cooperation, and vessel traffic underway sailing, or underway using its engine),
management. A message from a ship is received by ship draught, service speed, total engine power, and
a telecommunications satellite. The communication deadweight. Features were aggregated in different
networks used in the operation of the LRIT are Irid- ways, for example, the status of the ship with total
ium and Inmarsat (C and D+). The communications hours spent during status or GPS position and actual
service provider is responsible for the operation of speed.
the satellites, the infrastructure necessary for the
system to function properly, and its maintenance Research methodology and data sources
(Szcześniak & Weintrit, 2012, pp. 83–84).
SafeSeaNet is a maritime information exchange The analysis was performed with the use of
system for the EU’s member states, consisting of two databases. The first one is the AIS database of
a network of national SafeSeaNet systems intercon- maritime traffic in the North Sea, prepared by S&P
nected through the central SafeSeaNet system. It has Global. The database contains 32,390,057 records
been developed to facilitate the exchange of data of information on vessel GPS position, ship type,
relevant to maritime safety, security of ships and IMO ship number, movement date, speed, draught,
port facilities, protection of the marine environment, heading, destination, and move status. The second
efficiency of vessel traffic, and maritime transport one is a database of technical parameters of offshore
between member states in electronic form. The col- vessels prepared by scientists from the University
lection and exchange of information is mainly, but of Gdańsk. The database contains 145,318 records
not exclusively, about entries and exits to ports and and includes information such as shipowner, dead-
the movements of certain types of ships (AIS). These weight, service speed, main engine total power, type
include all ships of more than 300 gross tonnage and subtype of vessels, and IMO ship number. These
(GT), fishing, tourist, and cargo ships that are 45 m two databases were joined by the IMO ship number.
in length and over, and all ships carrying dangerous The data verification was performed on both
cargo regardless of size (Pietrzykowski & Nozdrzy- databases while empty cells, NA (not available) val-
kowski, 2013). ues, and values out of range were not considered.
The primary analysis of data was focused on:
Analysis of the size and structure • geospatial data analysis for vessel movement
of the fleet – own research with the different aggregation factors, i.e., ship
type (cargo or passenger), draught, speed, service
Purpose of the study speed, and main engine total power;
• data aggregation for statistics of the operation
The purpose of this study is to analyze the feasi- types with, for example, moored, underway using
bility of using automatic identification system (AIS) its engine, etc.

Zeszyty Naukowe Akademii Morskiej w Szczecinie 75 (147) 73

 Dariusz Czerwiński, Adam Kiersztyn, Sławomir Przyłucki, Aneta Oniszczuk-Jastrząbek, Ernest Czermański

For the analysis, the R language was used with Table 1. Number of hours spent by passenger ships with dif-
the following libraries: sp – classes and methods for ferent ship status
spatial data; dplyr – for working with data frame-like No. Ship status Hours
objects and filtering the data; ggplot2 – for creating 1 Aground 302
the graphics; geosphere – for computing distances 2 Anchored 4,102
and related measures for angular (longitude/latitude) 3 Moored 201,124
locations; ggmap – for spatial visualization with 4 Not under command 4
ggplot2.
5 Power-driven towing astern 3
6 Restricted maneuverability 11,399
Evaluation of the transport of passengers
7 Underway sailing 2,042

The first group of considered ships was offshore 8 Underway using engine 153,357
passenger ships. The routes in which the passenger
ships are traveling on the North Sea are shown in of the ships were observed in the case of owners
Figure 2. We can easily notice that there are some Orsted A/S (87,457 hours), Acta Marine Hold-
characteristic points for the ships that are moving. ing BV (81,222 hours), Repsol Oil & Gas Canada
These are the routes that passengers (pax) travel to Inc. (38,238 hours), Chevalier Floatels BV (36,823
locations of oil rigs, platforms, and wind farms. hours), Amasus Shipping BV (16,652 hours), North-
ern Offshore Services AB (10,983 hours), and World
Marine Offshore A/S (10,814 hours). The total num-
ber of ship owners in the filtered data is equal to 110.
Considering the time spent at sea by the ships,
there are only 9 group owners with a result above
2% (see Figure 3). The percentage of group owner
time was calculated as the total group time divided
by the total time of all ships spend on the sea. The
top 9 ship group owners comprise 80.5% of the total
time.
Njord Offshore
Ltd. Bridgemans
World Marine Offshore A/S 2.34%
2.91% Services Group LP
2.24%
Northern Offshore
Services AB
2.95%

Amasus Shipping BV
4.48%
Orsted A/S
23.53%
Chevalier
Floatels BV
9.91%

Acta Marine
Holding BV
Figure 2. Routes of the passenger ships with their speed 21.85%
marked in color Repsol Oil & Gas
Canada Inc
10.29%
The transport of pax was analyzed by filtering the
data with ship type equal to “Passenger”. It provides Figure 3. Passenger ship group owners with a total time
result higher or equal to 2%
the total number of records equal to 372,334. Next,
the records were aggregated by the field “Ship sta-
tus” and the results were presented in Table 1. The pathways of ships aggregated by ship group
Additionally, the owners of the ships were checked owners, limited to the 9 groups described above,
and aggregated. The most frequent movements are shown in Figure 4. We notice that some paths

74 Scientific Journals of the Maritime University of Szczecin 75 (147)

 Analysis of passenger ships activity in the oil and gas offshore shipping sector in the North Sea

GroupOwner

Acta Marine Holding BV

Amasus Shipping BV
Bridgemans Services Group LP
Chevalier Floatels BV
Njord Offshore Ltd.
Northern Offshore Services AB
Orsted A/S
Repsol Oil & Gas Canada Inc
World Marine Offshore A/S

Figure 4. Passenger ship routes with their owners marked in color. Here, the top 9 groups by total time are given

Figure 5. Cargo ship routes with their shipowner marked in color

Zeszyty Naukowe Akademii Morskiej w Szczecinie 75 (147) 75

 Dariusz Czerwiński, Adam Kiersztyn, Sławomir Przyłucki, Aneta Oniszczuk-Jastrząbek, Ernest Czermański

are only covered by one group owner (for example, Table 2. Average values of speed and draught, and difference
Bridgemans Services Group LP or World Marine in draught, for the chosen moored and moving passenger
Offshore A/S). ships
Moreover, according to the group owners, we IMO Status
Average Average Differ-
compare the passenger ship routes with the cargo speed draught ence
ship routes. The transport of cargo was analyzed 9295103 Moored 0.00 3.11 0.000
by filtering the data with ship type equal to “Car- 9295103 Underway using engine 0.95 3.11
go” and the destination name of the gas, oil, or wind 9295490 Moored 0.00 3.20 0.006
platform. This provides the total number of records 9295490 Underway using engine 1.79 3.19
equal to 416,009, and the ship routes are shown in 9538531 Moored 0.00 5.50 –0.400
Figure 5. 9538531 Underway using engine 2.24 5.90
The most frequent ship movement can be 9668996 Moored 0.00 1.50 0.013
observed for the case of Boston Putford Offshore 9668996 Underway using engine 3.16 1.49
Safety (163,934 hours), Havila Shipping ASA
9365104 Moored 0.00 4.52 0.130
(52,114 hours), Odfjell Eiendom AS (25,815 hours),
9365104 Underway using engine 4.08 4.39
Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd (23,439 hours), and Vroon
BV (11,718 hours).
Table 3. Draught statistics for different Ddraught of passen-
It is noticeable that the pathways of the pas- ger ships
senger-carrying ships are correlated with the paths
Avg Min Max
obtained from the cargo ship data. However, the No. Percent
(m) (m) (m)
owner of the ship groups for which vessels travel
Ships 139 100.00%
most frequently differs in both cases.
Ship’s delta draught < 0 45 32.37% –0.71 –0.004 –3.000
Additionally, the difference between the draught
Ship’s delta draught = 0 61 43.88%
when the passenger ship is moored and is underway
Ship’s delta draught > 0 33 23.74% 0.79 0.001 6.000
using its engine is calculated according to:
Δdraught = draught moored − draught moving (1)
The summary of draught differences for three dif-
and is shown in column name “Difference” in Table ferent delta draughts is presented in Table 3. There
2. Some ships have a higher draught when they move is a total number of cargo ships equal to 139 in the
(for example, IMO 9538531), while this occurs for filtered database. It can be seen that about 32.4%
other ships when they are moored (for example, of ships have a difference in draught smaller than
IMO 9365104). 0 (i.e., the draught when they are moving is higher

Figure 6. Distribution of the draught and Δdraught for Δdraught > 0

76 Scientific Journals of the Maritime University of Szczecin 75 (147)

 Analysis of passenger ships activity in the oil and gas offshore shipping sector in the North Sea

Figure 7. Distribution of the draught and Δdraught for Δdraught < 0

than when they are moored), while 43.88% have location and arrival time of ships, they can more
no difference in draught, and 23.74% have higher accurately plan the delivery of goods to ports and
draught when they are moored. The average dif- warehouses. Maritime vessel tracking also allows
ferences of draught are similar and equal to 71 and them to control the quality of service. They can, for
79 cm. The maximum draught differences are equal example, monitor the transit time of goods and com-
to 3 and 6 meters. Minimum differences are less than pare it with customer expectations, thus improving
1 cm, which can be treated as measuring errors. quality and increasing customer confidence. Better
The distribution of drought and drought differ- control of safety at sea is also achieved. By having
ence (i.e., Δdraught) is shown in Figures 6 and 7. the ability to monitor vessel movements in real time,
It is noticeable that some points can be treated as it is possible to react quickly in the event of haz-
anomalies; for example, Figure 6 shows a point in ards, such as ship collisions or accidents. It could be
which the Δdraught value equals 6 m for a draught said that maritime tracking tools can help improve
equating to 6 meters. The other points are gathered economic efficiency by optimizing shipping routes,
within reasonably similar areas. planning deliveries, controlling service quality, and
There are many errors in the processed database, ensuring safety at sea.
for example, the lack of information on the ship’s However, currently, several data gaps are experi-
speed or missing information on the ship’s status. enced and incorrect data delivery may occur, which
In this case, the data was filtered to obtain the com- makes the above-mentioned activities less accurate
plete records. and reliable. In correlation with the vast scale of
the all-day tracked ship movement records, there
Conclusions is a clear need for further research and technology
development towards data accuracy improvement
Tracking the movement of seagoing vessels can and, simultaneously, elaboration of the methods for
have a positive impact on economic efficiency, espe- data gap substitutability with the highest possible
cially for shipping. Access to information on the precision factor.
location and course of seagoing vessels makes it
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Cite as: Czerwiński, D., Kiersztyn, A., Przyłucki, S., Oniszczuk-Jastrząbek, A., Czermański, E. (2023) Anal-
ysis of passenger ships activity in the oil and gas offshore shipping sector in the North Sea. Scientific Journals
of the Maritime University of Szczecin, Zeszyty Naukowe Akademii Morskiej w Szczecinie 75 (147), 68–78.

78 Scientific Journals of the Maritime University of Szczecin 75 (147)