The IMO’s new sulphur content regulation for ship fuels also concerns cylinder lubricants presenting new challenges in terms of composition, operation and supply. HANSA talked to a group of marine lubricants suppliers about current issues
There are two major challenges for a cylinder oil coping with 2020 fuels. First, it needs to neutralize the sulphur[ds_preview] in the fuel to prevent corrosive wear. For fuels with up to 0.5% sulphur content, a maximum of 40 BN is required. Second, the cylinder oil needs sufficient detergency to prevent soot agglomeration and hard deposits from distillate or blends containing distillate fuel. »In summary, the cylinder oil needs to have the right BN and increased detergency to keep liner, piston and ring pack clean,« Stefan Claußen, Technical and Marketing Director, Lukoil Marine Lubricants, tells HANSA.
Cylinder oils with a higher base number (e.g. 70 BN) or mixing of different cylinder oil qualities with the same or different BN levels, not homogenously, may not provide the detergency required for 2020 fuels and excessive BN or insufficient detergency will pose a risk of bore polishing and loss of liners.
The major challenge will be the fuels’ capacity to dissolve asphaltenes, which will be a much bigger issue in the future as new components could be mixed into the fuel that might decrease or disturb its asphaltene solvency and combustion quality.
»The Base Number does not give any indication about the quality level of the lubricant, which makes it even more difficult for a customer to compare the different qualities that are on offer. Today’s standard 70 BN marine cylinder lubricants may not do the job, even existing 40 BN cylinder lubricants, which were formulated for pre-2020 residual fuels, may not,« Claußen says.
To ensure optimum cleanliness of the ring pack, a new cylinder oil with extra detergency should be used rather than an old type of 40 BN cylinder oil, which most lube oil companies have phased out already. These older products could lead to excessive deposits over time that could finally result in piston ring issues and increased wear and tear, which ultimately leads to scuffing.
Preparation pays off
The industry has been preparing for this changeover for a long time. Chevron has seen a steady increase in the switch from high BN cylinder lubricants to low with it peaking in late November into early December pointing towards the majority of operators being ready in good time. »We have been working closely with our customers on their compliance journey, and in 2019 the feedback they provided strongly indicated that the majority were switching to compliant fuels,« says Ian Thurloway, Brand & Marketing Manager, Chevron Marine Lubricants.
Less than 10% of Gazpromneft Marine Lubricants’ (ML) customers decided to wait to the »last minute«. The majority started rearrangement in advance and to the end of the 4th quarter was ready to meet the new requirements, Managing Director Roman Miroshnichenko tells HANSA.
Shell has been preparing for IMO 2020 for five years across businesses. »I would say that our customers are getting through the transition very well considering how big a change it actually is and the many things that can go wrong. However, the transition is not over yet. We see strong demand still in 2020 and we are continuing to support our customers with enhanced lubricants analysis and monitoring,« says Shell Marine’s General Manager, Joris van Brussel.
Lukoil states that it has not seen any last minute arrangements. In the time leading up to the 2020 switch-over the company sought opportunities for information and for exchange with customers about the expected changes. »However, even if the preparation has been done and the bunkered VLSFO is within specification, the fuel could still show some instability after bunkering or could lead to filtration, purification or combustion issues, especially during the change over process from conventional heavy fuel oils and new VLSFO,« Stefan Claußen says.
Lubricant suppliers have stated over the past months that they have done their homework, ensuring compliance and operational safety. 2020 has just started and so has the use of the new fuels and lubricants. While on the technical side everything seems to run smoothly after the transition, the suppliers worry more about the human element in the equation. »As for training it is, and should be, ongoing. For example, at Chevron we run a series of ongoing customer seminars focused on routes to compliance, and the correct application of our Taro Ultra range which meet the requirement for almost all post-2020 operating profiles. We also have Field Technical Specialists based around the globe to help our customers with onboard assistance,« says Thurloway.
»We do not expect any problems with switching itself but we can’t deny the human element,« says Miroshnichenko. Even if everything seems to be eminently suitable, crew members have to be extremely attentive to the engine, fuel and oil condition. »Not following changeover procedure like mixing incompatible products, taking inappropriate samples etc. may lead to premature wear,« he warns.
Shell Marine’s General Manager, Joris van Brussel, also bets on close observation and customer dialogue: »Getting a non-objection letter for a new lubricant takes 4,000 running hours, and it is widely known that potential issues may crop up later rather than sooner. At Shell Marine we have a close and constant dialogue with our customers and my observation is that they have very different approaches and strategies to address the IMO 2020 changes. At this stage I would say that our customers are well positioned to cope with the challenges ahead. In 2019, Shell held extensive engagements to ensure that.«
»With a transition as big as IMO 2020, one always has to be prepared for everything. That is why we have invested in our lubricants analytics capability with our newly launched solution being able to spot any challenges that customers might have early on. We do strongly recommend together with OEMs to do enhanced lubricants analysis and monitoring. It is absolutely critical and will continue to be critical in our view,« van Brussel adds.
»Lessons learnt so far are that you can’t communicate and engage enough. Open and constant exchange and close collaboration are key success factors to manage high complexity situations like IMO 2020,« van Brussel says.
Challenge: multi-fuel operation
And complexity is definitely rising. Chevron’s Ian Thurloway expects to see more dual fuel engines that can present an »interesting challenge« in terms of lubrication. Multi-fuel operations such as LNG carriers that rely on boil-off to power 4-stroke auxiliary engines may need to switch lubricants or maintain oil stability by topping up with a different grade of oil. »Our technical specialists have huge experience working with alternatively fueled vessels and work closely with customers to create a suitable lubrication program in these cases,« Thurloway says.
On the lubricants side the switch has been relatively smooth, van Brussel states. »We try to anticipate and be prepared for almost every eventuality.« This included detailed demand planning as well as having large additional stocks in reserve. Shell has seen »unusual ordering patterns« and many urgent orders but because of the extensive preparation on customer and supplier side has been able to manage the transition quite well. »However, we are not there yet. We strongly recommend advanced lubricants analytics and monitoring to have a real time view of what is going on inside the engine and be able to catch challenges early on,« van Brussel adds.
Lukoil today relies on more than three years’ experience with its product NAVIGO MCL Extra in engines running on very and ultra-low sulphur fuels.
Monitoring truly critical post 2020
Operators will need to monitor consumption and performance closely, especially during the transition phase. According to Ian Thurloway there is the possibility of overfeeding the engine lubricant or maintaining an incorrect BN balance which could result in wear or engine damage. »We recommend that all vessels use our DOT.FAST drip oil analysis service to ensure an optimized feed rate and to help minimize both wear and cost,« he adds.
Customers of Gazpromneft ML have their personal accounts on the website where they can find full information about oils in use, available also for download. Fast access to the old reports and ability to create graphs allow identifying trends to find out potential issues that can affect the equipment.
»Lubricants monitoring has always been important but it is absolutely critical post 2020,« says van Brussel. Shell has simplified the sampling process through pre-registration using printed labels and an app that interfaces with its systems. The company also introduced onboard tools that allow the crew to get real-time readings and quicker insights via Shell’s global lab network. Moreover, a new lubricants analysis system allows Shell to provide advanced trend analytics as well as compare similar engines and circumstances. »This means we advise on the current state, and are also able to predict how a certain condition is going to evolve,« he says.
»Used Oil Analysis (UOA) and Cylinder oil Scrapedown Analysis for two-stroke engines will continue to be essential tools and provide important information in particular during and after the change-over process,« Lukoil’s Claußen adds. In addition, regular inspections shall be done by the crew for piston cleanliness and fuel injector performance to ensure that the feed rate is sufficient and the injection and combustion properties of the new VLSFO are acceptable.
»Whatever fuel they choose«
Before the entry into force of IMO 2020 much has been speculated about availability issues with traditional HSFO. The same question arises around the right lubricants for these fuels, as vessels operating on scrubbers need traditional HSFO, while vessels on VLSFO need new lubricants. Gazpromneft ML plans to continue supplying traditional HSFO-compatible lubricants to all ports of its port directory for »as long as there is demand«. »Of course we see that it becomes lower with every month, but we are still ready to produce a fair number of such lubricants,« says Roman Miroshnichenko.
As well as Lukoil, Chevron is also confident to have »the right lubricants in the right places«. Lukoil emphasizes the challenge of the new situation as the number of different cylinder oils that need to be available has increased. »In the main ports, cylinder oil delivery is done by barge and a barge has a limited number of tanks and tank capacity. It is now more complex than ever for suppliers to coordinate: Which type of cylinder oil and how much each should be stored where and on which barge?,« Claußen asks.
Shell, who delivers marine lubricants to more than 10,000 vessels in over 700 ports, will »continually develop a diverse portfolio of marine lubricants« that meet its customers’ needs »whatever fuel option they choose today and in the future as the industry moves to cleaner fuels«.
It is just a small total number of vessels have chosen to go down the scrubber route, but that small number of vessels represents a larger percentage of the global fleet DWT due to their size, Thurloway says. »The supply of cylinder lubricants for use with HSFO/scrubbers is critical to our customers,« the Chevron manager puts it.
Gazpromneft ML expects that abatement technology such as scrubbers will stay in demand as fleet owners are expected to try to optimize their costs using heavy fuels with a very high sulphur content. »If this happens, the demand on lubricants with very high up to 100-140 BN will remain steady,« Miroshnichenko says.
It is estimated that more than 2,000 vessels have installed a scrubber, so Shell anticipates that HSFO compatible lubricants are going to continue to be needed in the foreseeable future.
Although the low sulphur fuels have less lubrication properties, neither of the suppliers expects any extra growth of the lubrication market, »but we are ready to changes in demand structure«, Mirochnichenko says.
Lukoil even expects the overall lubricant volume to decrease, because with the premium 40 BN lubricants for VLSFO operation, the limiting factor is not BN but detergency. This means that high quality VLSFO may allow reducing the feed rate towards the minimum feed rate recommended by the OEM – and, as a consequence, lubricant consumption would decrease.
But this will hardly slow down the lubricants market and product development in general as continuously incoming new environmental legislation and new engine technology call for new developments on the lubricants side – as IMO 2020 is just showing.
»One of the biggest challenges facing the shipping industry is how to continue meeting the world’s demand while lowering the environmental impact. With global shipping volumes expected to continue growing, decarbonisation and tackling greenhouse gas emissions from shipping are an important focus for the industry,« says Shell Marine’s Joris van Brussel.
For Ian Thurloway, the diversification of engines in innovations in fuel technology make this an exciting time to be in the industry, and the outlook for marine lubricants is »extremely positive«, he states.
