Engine lubrication changes and challenges

At last month’s Lukoil Marine Lubricants seminar, Stefan Claussen, technical and marketing director, presented on the uncertainties around the marine fuel landscape after 2020 and discussed the future cylinder lubrication solutions for very-low (VLSFO <0.5%S) and ultra-low sulphur fuel oils (ULSFO <0.1%S) as a major topic.

Mr Claussen reinforced the approach advising to start with 40 BN cylinder lubricants for VLSFO operation from 2020.

This is a method also shared by OEMs, for example in MAN’s latest service letter SL2019-671/JAP: “It is expected that the vast majority of all vessels with MAN B&W engines will experience a trouble-free transition to max. 0.50%S fuels. We recommend beginning with 40 BN cylinder oil and evaluating the condition continuously.”

According to Mr Claussen: “The challenge is to create a sufficient level of detergency to avoid deposits in the engine.”

Kenny Park, technical and marketing manager at LUKOIL Marine Lubricants explained the company has “already been anticipating in advance that with cylinder oil for all fuels up to 0.5%S the crucial factor will be cleaning capability rather than neutralization”.

NAVIGO MCL Extra is a 40 BN marine cylinder oil for distillate, ULSFO, VLSFO and low Sulphur heavy fuel oil applications and is approved for MAN, WinGD and J-ENG (Mitsubishi) engines. It prevents deposit build-up by extra detergency for 2020 fuels.

Speaking about the oil, Mr Claussen noted “we have been experiencing its excellent cleaning performance e.g. on engines running long-term on low sulphur fuel between Brazil and northern European ports”.