You have steamed 520 miles at 22 knots and burning 319 barrels of fuel per day. You must decrease your consumption to 137 barrels per day with 410 miles left in your voyage. What must you reduce your speed (kts) to in order to burn this amount of fuel?

Correct Answer: Option A — 16.2

Using Bowditch fuel consumption laws, remaining fuel and distance dictate the required speed. With the target consumption of 137 barrels per day over the remaining 410 miles, solving the cubic fuel-speed relationship results in a required speed of 16.2 knots.