Slow steaming and emissions controls put pressure on lubricants

As shipping turns to slow steaming to reduce costs and faces increased emissions control measures, the process and challenge of procuring marine lubricants has taken on greater complexity and significance, Total Lubmarine, a supplier of marine lubricants and greases, has said.

The North American emissions control area (ECA), effective from 2012, will impact 50% of maritime traffic, forcing ship owners and operators not typically operating in ECAs to begin using lower basicity cylinder lubricants required for lower sulphur fuels. This increasing trend is likely to pose challenges for ship owners and operators when leaving ECAs, as lower base number (BN) lubricants are not best suited to operation with higher sulphur fuels permissible for use outside ECA boundaries.

Moreover, the use of lower basicity cylinder lubricants within the ECA runs directly counter to the lubrication requirements for slow steaming or other conditions outside ECAs, which conversely require owners and operators to run specific lubricants.

With rising bunker prices and growing charterer pressure to reduce costs, slow steaming looks set to stay. Most container vessels have cut cruising speeds from 22-25 knots to 18-20 knots, but in the case of extra slow steaming, to as low as 8-12 knots, which significantly increases stresses and strains on a two or four stroke marine engine.

Patrick Havil, global marketing manager, Total Lubmarine, said: “We know that ship operators are under pressure to deliver against current and impending SOx and NOx regulations, reduce bunker fuel costs through slow steaming and meet safety standards to protect both their workforce and the environment. At the same time they need to maintain a clear competitive advantage through reliable, consistent operations and ensuring profitability. Faced with this, the industry needs a new generation of marine lubricants that not only offer significant cost savings and better performance, but are also compatible with different levels of sulphur, and the great demand for slow steaming.”

Total Lubmarine says that it has been addressing these issues for some time now and has developed its solution to this two-fold challenge. Talusia Universal is claimed to have been tested more extensively than any other lubricant on the market, against both high and low levels of sulphur HFO, and has been validated by customers using distillates and slow steaming.

Havil continued: “We’re confident this product will effectively future-proof all vessels and is a significant step forward for the industry. Talusia Universal is the only lubricant compatible with fuel at all sulphur levels, meaning that the need to switch lubricants when moving in and out of an ECA is completely removed. Based on this, we are already developing the perfect lubricant for the 2015 market that will give optimal performance with the highest sulphur content HFO right down to lower sulphur content fuels.”

In response the increasing scrutiny ship owners and operators place upon managing waste and leaked lubricants from vessel stern tubes and other machinery. Total Lubmarine has outlined plans for a new generation of biodegradable hyper-efficient lubricating oils to meet the changing dynamics of the industry.