Developing a ship energy simulation model for optimized performance and Digital Twin implementation.

The maritime sector faces increasing pressure to reduce its environmental impact, driving the need for energy-efficient and cost-effective solutions supported by reliable digital tools. These tools are essential for ship design, retrofitting, and real-time energy performance optimization throughout a vessel lifecycle. A major challenge in this field is developing a high-fidelity simulation tool that accurately models shipboard energy systems, enabling optimal design, operation, and integration into digital twin platforms. Such a tool must capture the complex interactions between energy flows, operating conditions, and technological configurations to support informed decision-making. This study presents the validation of an in-house simulation tool, developed in MATLAB, designed to assess the energy, economic, and environmental performance of ship energy systems. The tool employs dynamic simulation to evaluate various system configurations, optimize layouts and operational strategies, and support decision-making in ship design and management. Its accuracy was validated using operational data from a cruise ship, demonstrating deviations of less than 4% between simulated and measured data. These findings confirm the tool reliability in predicting energy loads, temperatures, and system sizing, facilitating energy recovery opportunities and efficiency improvements. Ultimately, this work contributes to advancing digital twin applications in the maritime industry.