A practical solution to fuel contamination

And one Singapore-based marine fuel surveyor says that the use of fuel treatment in maritime shipping is becoming increasingly important when it comes to helping a ship suffering from fuel contamination get back to safe harbour.

“Contaminated fuel is a real threat to marine engines and our fuel treatment. Among the problems can be plungers sticking, injection valves damaged and needing to be replaced, broken rings, cracked pistons and even connecting rods bent,” said Olivier d’Olne, group technical director of Aderco.

Emergency solution

The Motorship previously reported on Houston being hit by widespread bunker contamination which was causing sticking fuel plungers and fuel pump seizures and failures on several vessels.

Aderco says that its 2055G fuel treatment could help mitigate these problems which can have serious mechanical and financial implications for operators.

The treatment leaves a coating around the aromatics (heavy hydrocarbons) and reduces the polymerisation that is destructive to the engine.

Mr d’Olne warns of serious issues experienced by different blended fuels the run-up to the IMO’s global sulphur cap starting 2020.

The need to clean fuel tanks will be of paramount importance and Mr d’Olne sees Aderco 2055G fuel treatment as being a portable solution to the problem without having to dry dock and affect operations.