New ISO 8217 Spec Due for Publication by 2016

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Tuesday April 8, 2014

A new edition of the ISO 8217 marine fuel specification guidelines should be published by 2016, Platts reports.

Chevron fuels technologist Monique Vermeire discussed progress by the ISO committee working on the matter at the International Bunker Conference in Copenhagen.

The current edition of the guidelines is ISO 8217:2012, and the committee began considering the new edition in September.

Among the issues under consideration are the addition of fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) biodiesel blends as a new series of distillate marine fuel grades, the "current de minimis level" of biodiesel in distillate and residual fuel grades, and the potential incorporation of new blend components in specifications for gas to liquids, biomass to liquids, and hydroprocessed vegetable oils.

The new guidelines may also include new test methods for FAME in residual fuel oils and for filter-blocking in distillate fuels, as well as parameters connected to emission abatement technology and ignition and combustion quality.

The current edition of the guidelines has seen a slow take-up rate, only around 11 percent in 2013, according to DNV Petroleum Services (DNVPS) data.

ExxonMobil Marine Fuels & Lubricants said last month that buying to the latest specification was one way to maximum the chances of avoiding bunker quality issues.

Bunker testing agency Intertek has said that test data shows changes in regulations that govern marine fuel result in an increase in off-specification bunkers.

Ship & Bunker News Team
To contact the editor responsible for this story email us at editor@shipandbunker.com