Wilhelmsen Ships Service: Marine Fuel Quality is "Deteriorating"

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Wednesday July 2, 2014

The rising use of low-sulfur fuels and the slowing of ships' speeds are making marine fuel quality an increasingly significant issue for the shipping industry, writes Jonas Östlund, marine chemicals product marketing manager at Wilhelmsen Ships Service (WSS).

"It's a hard but inescapable fact that the quality of marine fuel used across the world's
shipping fleet has been deteriorating over many years," Östlund writes.

Several factors are at play, including changes to the refining process and environmental rules that have pushed suppliers to focus on low-sulfur residual fuels and ultra-low sulfur distillates.

"Taken together, these changes will have a profound impact over the next 10 to 15 years
as refinery output shifts towards new fuels and the next wave of pollution regulations
begins to bite," according to Östlund.

Blended bunker fuels are typically judged by the owner's specifications and ISO standards, but those specifications don't always reflect the "real quality of the fuel," he writes.

The blending process used to make low-sulfur fuels can lead to instability, which may not be immediately apparent but can lead to problems with asphaltenic sludge.

Slow steaming also contributes to problems since it often means running ship engines at conditions they were not designed for, leading to poor combustion at low loads and a build-up of soot deposits.

Fuel treatment systems, along with regular testing, can help address these problems, Östlund writes.

WSS sells products intended to deal with the issues, including a demulsifier, a conditioner, and a combustion enhancer and stabilizer, as well as a new product focused specifically on diesel fuel, Unitor DieselPower.

Steve Bee, global business director of Intertek (Lintec) ShipCare Services explained earlier this year how blending can cause fuel quality problems.