Americas News
DNVPS: Big Increase in Bunker Alerts Since ECA Introduction
Hauk Larsen Wahl, DNV Petroleum Services Inc (DNVPS) Regional Manager for North American operations, says they have been surprised by the "big increase" in bunker alerts since the August 1, 2012 introduction of the North American Emissions Control Area (ECA).
Discussing the 1.00 percent maximum sulfur fuel needed to meet current ECA requirements, Wahl told delegates gathered at the GreenTech 2013 conference in Vancouver, Canada last week: "As fuel gets better for the environment, it actually creates challenges for the ship operators."
Quality issues with the fuel include sediment issues, and issues with abrasives, Wahl explained, saying there is an inverse relationship between the drop in the sulfur content of fuel, and the increase in the amount of abrasives in the fuel.
He also said that fuels produced last year had a significantly higher density than in previous years as a result of the new blending process to create the fuel.
Wahl also highlighted that, geographically, the alerts were not evenly distributed across the Americas.
"The Canadian supply industry is quite clever in producing on-spec products," he said, as there had been no bunker alerts in the country in 2012 and so far in 2013.
Panama, on the other hand, saw "a significant increase" in alerts, rising from zero in 2011 to five in 2012.
"This is directly related to the production of low sulfur fuel oil," he said.
However "by far" the most significant effect was seen in U.S. ports, where Wahl said there had been "a tremendous increase in bunker alerts" from 6 in 2011, to 19 in 2012.
However after a lot of initial trouble, he said things have now improved.
"Its a like a chef trying a new recipe, and fine tuning it to get the right product."
