Shell joins all-purpose cylinder lube market

The company describes the new oil as “its most innovative marine engine oil in a generation” and says that it means vessels will no longer need to carry multiple oilsIt is formulated to work effectively at any vessel speed, including slow and ultra slow steaming – said to be important for varying speed operation, catering for the contrasting needs to reduce fuel consumption and meet strict timetables.

The new formulation is claimed to better protect engines, enabling reduced maintenance and lower oil feed rates, and reduces the need to shut down engines for repair, resulting in an overall reduction in operating costs.

Shell scientists developed the new Shell Alexia S4 formulation, including its combination of additives, at the company’s Marine and Power Innovation Centre in Hamburg, Germany. Tests in laboratory engines under simulated slow steaming conditions demonstrated that Shell Alexia S4 provided up to a 20% improvement in overall engine wear, compared to Shell’s existing cylinder oil and out-performed all other oils tested. It was also extensively tested during more than 25, 000 hours of field trials, by customers and the original engine manufacturers MAN and Wärtsilä. Here it proved its ability to protect engines running on distillate (in some cases for up to 1,000h) and residual fuels containing 0.2% to 3.75% sulphur content in a range of locations and climates, including the Antarctic, the Middle East and South America. The company says that in one case, with technical support and a switch to Alexia S4, the trial showed a 33% reduction in oil feed rate. Alexia S4 will be available to customers from 1 August 2012.

“Shell Marine Products has a proud heritage of working with our customers for over 100 years. We have developed a smarter engine oil to meet the evolving needs of the modern shipping industry,” said Surinderdeep Singh, general manager of Shell Marine Products. “Shell Alexia S4 offers operational simplicity, cost reduction potential and proven performance under tough conditions.”