VPS and Intertanko Concerned Over Impact on Bunker Quality from Proposed Changes to ISO 8217

VPS is concerned that proposed changes to ISO 8217 may undermine efforts of the shipping industry toward fuel quality improvements.

Veritas Petroleum Services (VPS) and INTERTANKO Friday voiced concerns over proposed revisions to the ISO 8217 specifications for marine fuels.

Both VPS and INTERTANKO believe that proposed changes to the draft international standard (DIS) ISO 8217 may undercut the efforts of the shipping industry toward improving fuel quality.

"We therefore urge ship owners, operators and national authorities to join our call for raising fuel quality standards within the industry," VPS in the emailed statement.

Clause 5: General requirements

VPS says that proposed changes to the current ISO 8217:2012 include changes to statements in Clauses 5.3 and 5.5 that emphasize the importance of ship, crew, and environmental safety. Specifically, clause 5.5 states:

"The fuel shall not contain any additive at the concentration used in the fuel, or any added substance or chemical waste that jeopardizes the safety of the ship or adversely affects the performance of the machinery, or is harmful to personnel, or contributes overall to additional air pollution."

Instead, the proposed Clause 5.2 is said to state only that "the fuel shall be free from any material at a concentration that causes the fuel to be unacceptable for use in accordance with the Scope of this International Standard," an inadequacy that VPS says is even acknowledged within the draft new standard, in that it says "determining the concentration of a material that causes the fuel to be unacceptable for use is not straightforward."

"This change to Clause 5 overlooks the fact the international marine fuel standard, ISO 8217, was introduced to govern fuel quality with an implied need to ensure seaworthiness of the ship," said Gerard Rohaan, CEO at VPS.

"This spirit of the fuel quality standard should not be compromised by semantics."

Another concern was a change to the meaning of "de minimis" in relation to the level of FAME for DMA, DMZ, DMB and RM grades, which has increased from from 0.1 percent to 0.5 percent by volume. 

"We could find ourselves arguing about limits of a substance that should not be in the fuel in the first place," said Ian Harrison, Senior Manager - Technical at INTERTANKO.

"We have concerns that the response to experience of contamination is to relax the requirement, rather than improve fuel quality to meet the standard," said Harrison.

Clause 8: Test Result Precision and Interpretation

The proposed draft Clause 8, which is said to make ISO 4259 a requirement when interpreting test results dispute cases, states that a recipient is unable to consider a product out of specification "unless the test result exceeds the specification limit value by more than the 95 percent confidence limit."

VPS says that this change of testing tolerances enables suppliers to deliver products "well beyond" current maximum limits.

For example, VPS says the Al+Si limit set at 60 ppm will be permitted to rise to 72 ppm, while a number of engine manufacturers have recommended a limit of 15ppm.

"This would be cause for concern and we would appreciate further clarification on amendments to this clause and its consequences," said Harrison.

Cloud Point and Cold Filter Plugging Point

VPS notes that cloud point and cold filter plugging point still have not been included for the distillate fuel specifications, making pour point the only cold flow property determinant for distillate fuels.

As has been previously discussed on Ship & Bunker, in some cases fuels have cloud points and cold filter plugging points that are many degrees higher than the pour point.

Without knowing those points, the formation of paraffin might start at much higher temperatures that the operator realizes.

"Recent experience has shown this to be an issue, but there is only a reference to Cloud Point and Cold Filter Plugging Point, rather than a requirement to test," said Rohaan.

The VPS notes that voting on the DIS ISO 8217 by participating countries ends on April 4, 2016.

In October, Ship & Bunker reported that International Bunker Industry Association (IBIA) Chairman Jens Maul Jørgensen had leveled harsh criticism against the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in regards to bunker quality.