Page 19 - SMI Issue 62

The sheer pace of change in the shape, size and capacityof today’s ship, thewide-ranging eco- friendly fuels thatpower it and the growth of a moreenvironmentally compliant shipping industryhas had a marked effect on the choicesof chemicals and lubricants today’s owners, operators andmanagers are faced with.For fuels, the most fundamentalchange has been the lowering of the sulphur limit – from 1% to 0.1% in January 2015 for all vessels travelling in emission control areas (ECAs) and from 3.5% to 0.5% for vessels operating in other areas which is due to be introduced in 2020 (subject to a 2018 review which may defer the deadline to 2025).“The new ECAs have put heightened pressure on owners to optimise efficiencies, achieve cost reductions and improve overall profitability, at the same time as understanding and complying with this relatively new legislation,”said Geoff Kimber, Technical Support Manager, Marine Engine Lubricants at BP Castrol.“The change in regulations will have a huge impact on owners’ and operators’ decision-making. It starts with the newbuilding. They have to make tough choices at the moment based on very little information. They will have to choose what type of ship they are building, they have to choose how many tanks they are building into the ship, they will have to choose the engine and the ability of the engine toburn different fuels from Hysol for heavy fuel which is the heaviest product that can be burnedin an engine down to LNG and gas whichis probably the lightest productthat can be burnt by anengine,”said Marcus Schaerer, Global Technical Manager, Shell Marine Products. Perhaps the biggest decisionowners face is that while they are only too aware of the prices of today’s fuels – from HFO to LNG – the price of fuel in 10 years’ time is an unknown factor and any estimates need to reflect the 10-to-15-year lifecycle of the average ship, said Mr Schaerer.says oil feed rates were reduced by 0.2g/ kWh while complying with OEM feed rate recommendations when he used Shell LubeMonitor reports on 25 of his vessels. Because of it he says he expects to save up to $20,000 per vessel a year.Another recent product, BP Castrol’s Cyltech ACT cylinder oil, was developed specially for vessels using low sulphur fuels including liquefied natural gas (LNG) and operating in ECAs. Cyltech uses ash control technology (ACT) to minimise the risk of ash build up.“Preventing hard ash build up is essential to protecting critical parts of the engine when burning low sulphur fuel and preventing irreparable damage,” said Mr Kimber.He said it was an example of howBP Castrol is working collaboratively with ship operators to recommend the right lubricants for vessels’ operating profiles, as well as helping them to create efficiencies through such approachesas feed optimisation. “Every ship is different and will require a different cylinder oil strategy, so procedures must be brought into place on a bespoke, ship- by-ship basis,” he said.One problem ship owners and operators have had to face recently is cold corrosion (when sulphuric acid forms on the liner walls in an engine cylinder and corrodes the liner surface). One of the most effective solutions is to use cylinder oils with the correct base numbers (BN) and feed rates as the alkalinity provided by a high BN oil effectively tackles the acidic build up that causes the problem.French lubricant specialist Total Lubmarine has tested a BN 100 cylinder oil on engines from Wärtsilä andMAN that works on all fuels ranging in sulphur content from 0%-3.5%. Called Talusia Optima, the lubricant is due tobe launched this month (October). It exceeds the capability of conventional BN 100 lubricants and provides effective acid neutralisation and cylinder cleanliness – aided by high quality calcium detergents combined with ANM.“Talusia Optima’s wide sulphur operational range means it can be used with fuels of any sulphur content, which avoids the need to load and store several“Chemicals & LubricantsThe change inregulations willhave a huge impacton owners’ andoperators’ decision-makingMarcus Schaerer, Global Technical Manager, She”ll Marine Products“Ship operating profiles have changed due to various external complexities which have an impact on marine engines. Therefore, we worked with customers to identify the right maintenance strategies to optimise their operations and tailor our services around their requirements and needs,” said Mr Schaerer.Key original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) recommend owners use drain oil analysis to monitor changes in the demands being placed on marine engines and the LubeMonitor service enables owners to strike the best balance between cylinder oil cost and engine reliability by optimising feed rates. Hamburg ship owner Oskar WehrTo help ownertough choices, Shell launched a new LubeMonitor service at the SMM trade fair in September. A cylinder monitoring service, LubeMonitor, supports another Shell product, the group’s Rapid Lubricants Analysis (RLA) cylinder check, with a software package, Marin Connect, which is designed to improve data management and reporting functions.s cope with theseIssue 70 2016 | The Ship Supplier | 17