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Fuel Consumption of Super and Mega Yachts?

Discussion in 'General Yachting Discussion' started by Waterfront, Aug 11, 2022.

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  1. Waterfront

    Waterfront Guest

    Does anyone have reliable information on the actual fuel consumption of some of the larger yachts that are out there? Say 100-120m range? And above 3,000gt? I have small boats and live on a lake during the summers and have no experience in these giant yachts (though I have been on several cruise ships which undoubtedly must vaporize fuel when cruising). But I have been reading about them in the news recently due to current events and there is a lack of concrete information about the fuel efficiencies of these larger vessels. And the news media offers contradictory information as well on the hard numbers. I am curious about the the fuel consumption rates because those would heavily dictate how one could use these yachts for leisure and travel.

    I have found a few mainstream news articles reporting the idle rates for fuel consumption for a yacht of 100m (3,400gt approximately) are around 150liters per hour for just the hotel load when idling at anchor. But others saying that a 70m yacht would burn fuel at 500m per hour without running the engines just for the hotel and guest loads. Which are wildly different numbers. And that those numbers would double at even the most efficient cruising speeds once the engines are running.

    Assuming a yacht, say Nero at 90m, carries 176,000liters of fuel. At 500liters per hour idling this would give you approximately two weeks of time on the water before you would run dry. Assuming no travel and allowing the tanks to deplete fully before returning to port to bunker. But most are going to want to bunker at at least a quarter tank full and not allow the tanks to run dry. So with travel and that in mind you have under two weeks at sea before return? Does this mean that the owners cannot spend more than a week and a day or so at sea before they need to move the yacht yet again and refuel? That does not seem correct and if it is seems like a huge limitation on these yachts in terms of enjoying them. I cannot imagine purchasing a yacht in the 90m range only to be required to have to bunker every other week or within a week?

    But at 150liters per hour you have over a month of time to idle at sea or anchor before you need to return to bunker, which is a major different in how you can utilize your yacht. You would bunker less than once a month if you spend a year on the water. And even less refueling would be necessary if you remained at a port that can accommodate your yacht and provide power. Which seems far more desirable than at the 500liter per hour figure that the media seems to provide.

    Anyone know of a site with better figures or can answer here?
  2. mapism

    mapism Senior Member

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    With diesel engines, it's easy to do the math: just take the power output in hp, divide it by five, and you get the lph.
    Some are slightly better, some slightly worse, but unless you need to make razor sharp estimates, that's reasonably accurate for a very wide range of diesel engines, including the big beasts you're interested in.

    What is more tricky is that for each engine, be them either propulsion or gensets, you normally know the max power output.
    But at any given time, the actual fuel burn depends on how many of those ponies are actually being used.
    So, as well as vessel speed affects the prop demand for hp, also the current demand affects the hp requested to the genset.
    And in both cases, these are the real fuel burn triggers.
    In other words, for a genset you can easily estimate the fuel burn when it's producing its max current output.
    But it makes a helluva difference if the vessel is at anchor full of guests, with all sort of current demand (airco, fridges, cooking, and whatnot), vs. just keeping the essential systems running.

    Anyway, in your boots I wouldn't lose my sleep on all that.
    With a 100-120 meters ship, your crew will take care of refueling when necessary! :)
  3. Waterfront

    Waterfront Guest

    Can you give me an estimate of something 90m-100m running at anchor for the burn rate of the generators? I literally said I wanted concrete information and numbers because I was having trouble finding them. Your entire post literally gives me none of that. You gave me an empty wasteful reply and bragged about how easy the math was. If it is so easy then please provide it for me rather than sarcastically brag about how you know more about yachts than everyone else, and then provide nothing.

    Is 500liters per hour at anchor with no engines running a realistic figure for the hotel load? Because I have seen that cited in multiple articles for a 70m yacht. Which to me makes no sense whatsoever because you would need to bunker practically every week with the fuel capacity numbers I have seen. Where exactly are they getting their numbers from?
    Again I explained this in my initial post. That the yacht was being used full service by the owners and guests running 24/7.
    daydreamer4 likes this.
  4. YachtForums

    YachtForums Administrator

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    Waterfront,

    This will be your last post on this forum. Good bye.

    YF Admin
    d_meister, slorner, T.T. and 2 others like this.
  5. MBevins

    MBevins Senior Member

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    Thank you Carl !!!
  6. mapism

    mapism Senior Member

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    Waterfront, a couple of comments just in case you are still reading this.

    First, I saw your reply after YF decided to ban you, so I have absolutely nothing to see with his decision.
    Not that I can't see his reasons, but FYI, my skin is old and thick enough to withstand also internet trolls.

    So much so, that I will go as far as answering (post-mortem, so to speak) your latest post.
    Which leads me to the second point:
    I said it's easy because it's easy.
    If you just use the tiny bit of information I gave you, you can calculate that a diesel engine burning 500 lph produces an output in the 2500 hp ballpark.
    In fact, if dividing the hp by 5 gives you the lph, it ain't rocket science to reverse that and multiply the lph by 5 to get the hp.
    Now, MTU for instance produces generators powered by their series 4000 engine, capable of 2500hp or so.
    And their AC output is in excess of 2 MW (yes, not a typo, megawatt!).

    Bottom line, over to you, Sherlock:
    if the 70m yacht of which you read in multiple articles has generators onboard capable of such total AC output, well, then the 500 lph could makes sense.
    The question is, was that a pleasure yacht, or some king of weird floating powerplant?!? o_O
    Last edited: Aug 12, 2022