Life Cycle Costing in the maritime sector: the case of the extraordinary maintenance of a Roll-on/Roll-off ferry

Among the different activities involved in maritime transport, mainte-
nance plays an important role in the life cycle of a ship in terms of security and
quality, as well as economic relevance. Thus, the evaluation of maintenance costs is
fundamental for companies that want to optimize economic sustainability needs in
addition to quality and security requirements. Life cycle costing (LCC) represents a
valid method to assess the costs involved along the whole life cycle of a product,
process, or service. In this context, this study aims to assess
the potential economic impacts connected to the extraordinary maintenance activities of a roll-on/roll-off
ferry by also including the costs associated with the environmental externalities, thus
applying the environmental LCC method. The functional unit (FU) is referred to as “the 47 extraordinary maintenance of the investigated Ro-Ro ferry implemented for days.”
while system boundaries are defined following a “cradle-to-gate”
approach. The main findings highlight that the LCC of the investigated ship main-
tenance accounts for €506,324.20 per FU. In addition, a negligible contribution of the
environmental externalities in terms of economic impacts is noted. The study also
underscores a trade-off between environmental and economic performance
concerning the steel used in maintenance activities.