The potential benefits of adopting the single fuel concept at sea in the Brazilian Navy

Abstract

One of the Brazilian Navy’s critical challenges is monitoring and guarding its extensive Blue Amazon maritime area. Fuel management, which is highly complex and requires the expenditure of significant financial resources, is a fundamental factor for successfully fulfilling naval objectives. Currently, the Brazilian Navy uses diesel to fuel ships and aviation kerosene for aircraft. The purpose of this study is to examine the potential impacts of the Brazilian Navy adopting a single fuel concept (SFC) for its ships in the Blue Amazon protection zone. This concept means using kerosene to fuel both ships and aircraft. We used the Monte Carlo simulation methodology to model and observe the reduction in mission risk due to the SFC implementation in different scenarios. Our results demonstrate a substantial decrease in mission risk from the status quo to the SFC policy, increasing the effectiveness of Brazilian Navy patrol operations. We conclude that the employment of SFC improves the protection of the Blue Amazon’s maritime wealth.