Lubrication Systems News

It might be easy to blame EALs, but the ongoing causes of stern tube damage are varied, and possibly declining.Environmentally Acceptable lubricants (EALs) gained market traction with the introduction of US VGP regulations in 2013. Since then, DNV has observed two major trends. The first, starting in 2013 was early life damage, either during sea trials or within the first five years of operation, where aft stern tube bearings typically failed under extreme load conditions. Then from around 2018…

According to the latest edition of DNV’s Maritime Forecast to 2050, the shipping industry will find it challenging to secure enough supply of carbon-neutral fuels.To meet the anticipated demand of 17 million tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe) annually by 2030, the maritime sector would need to access 30-40% of the projected worldwide carbon-neutral fuel supply.As the shipping industry will compete for these fuels with aviation and road transportation, as well as other industries, their production needs to significantly accelerate if the industry’s emission-reduction goals are to be met.

Japan's Mitsui O.S.K. Lines,(MOL) has signed a long-term agreement with INEOS Energy Trading, a subsidiary of UK-based INEOS Group Ltd., for the charter of two newbuild LNG carriers. This marks INEOS' entry into the LNG carrier market, and INEOS will use the vessel for the import of LNG into Germany from the United States. "These agreements are a significant milestone for INEOS Energy Trading following the long-term Sales and Purchase Agreement signed with Sempra for 1.4 mtpa of supply out of Port Arthur and the purchase of long-term regasification capacity in Brunsbuttel…

Alfa Laval announced it has completed its acquisition of Marine Performance Systems B.V. (MPS), a Rotterdam-based maritime technology company that has developed a fluidic air lubrication system enabling reduced fuel burn and emissions..Having acquired a minority stake in MPS in 2021, Alfa Laval has now taken the final step to fully integrate the company under its own brand. The acquisition will accelerate the advancement and introduction of the patented fluidic air lubrication system…

Finnlines’ second new Superstar passenger-freight vessel, Finncanopus, was launched on Friday at the China Merchants Jinling Shipyard in Weihai. The new Superstar class ro-pax vessels, along with sister vessel Finnsirius launched in August 2022—both part of Finnlines’ €500-million investment program—will enter service in 2023, serving the Naantali–Långnäs–Kapellskär route between Finland, Åland Islands and Sweden.Both vessels have capacity for 1,100 passengers, which is the double compared with the current vessels on the route. Each vessel has 323 passenger cabins and 64 crew cabins.

As the ship owners globally experiment with technologies to help incrementally cut emissions to meet stringent new IMO mandates, news out of south Florida indicates that Carnival Corporation, the world's largest cruise company, has made plans to expand the installation and use of Air Lubrication Systems (ALS) to a majority of the cruise line brands in its fleet through 2027; a move the cruise major expects witll generate "significant savings in fuel consumption and carbon emissions" by reducing hull drag by approximately 5% per ship.The pick for air lubrication is the Silverstream System ALS…

If shipping is the beating heart of global trade, its pulse is about to get slower. Faced with uncertainty about which fuels to use in the long term to cut greenhouse gas emissions, many shipping firms are sticking with aging fleets, but older vessels may soon have to start sailing slower to comply with new environmental rules.From next year, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) requires all ships to calculate their annual carbon intensity based on a vessel's emissions…

Bureau Veritas (BV) said it has been working with GILLS PTE LTD in Singapore to assess the performance of its air lubrication system designed to improve ship efficiency and decrease fuel burn by reducing the drag of an underwater hull. GILLS, which stands for gas injected liquid lubrication systems, deploys NACA profiles to create self-generating micro-bubbles for ‘turbulent modulation’ which has a ‘hull-tightening’ effect, reducing drag and energy requirements. The self-generating…

Malaysia's state oil firm Petroliam Nasional Bhd is expanding its global fleet of liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers with three newbuild 174,000 cubic meter capacity vessels, the company said on Thursday.The company, best known as Petronas, inked a time charter party (TCP) agreement with shipowner Hyundai LNG Shipping, which has signed shipbuilding contracts with South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) for the construction of the three vessels that are expected to be delivered from the second quarter of 2024 on a staggered basis.

Oil and gas giant Shell has signed long-term charters for six newbuild liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers.Shell has signed separate agreements for two LNG ships each with affiliates of Knutsen LNG, Korea Line Corporation, and ICBC Financial Leasing and institutional investors advised by J.P. Morgan Asset Management.The 174,000 cbm LNG ships will be built by Hyundai Heavy Industries and Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries. They will all be equipped with dual-fuel X-DF engines, boil-off management plants, air lubrication systems and shaft generators for auxiliary power.

As an operator of vessels, you understand that lubricants play an important role in helping you achieve your operational objectives. Yet, finding the right one can be overwhelming since there’s an almost unlimited number of different lubricant formulations. An understanding of lubrication chemistry, performance expectations and operational objectives will help you select a lubricant that will improve operations and lower your overall costs.Lubrication benefitsThe basic function of a lubricant is to reduce friction by separating interacting surfaces.

Norwegian shipping company Knutsen said that  Shell signed separate agreements for four LNG carriers with affiliates of Knutsen liquefied natural gas (LNG), two LNG carriers with Korea Line Corporation and two LNG Carriers with Global Meridian Holdings Limited.The LNG carrier owner and ship management  company informed that the 174,000 cbm LNG carriers will be built by Hyundai Heavy Industries and Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries.The new vessels will all be equipped with efficient dual-fuel X-DF engines, boil-off management plants, air lubrication systems and shaft generators for auxiliary power. They will be integrated into Shell’s time-chartered trading fleet.Dr Grahaeme Henderson…

TMC Compressors of the Seas is launching a new range compressors designed to work air lubrication systems (ALS) for the shipping and offshore industries to help ships further reduce fuel consumption and emissions to air.The Norway-based supplier of compressed air systems for marine and offshore use said in a press note that the air lubrication system is a method used to reduce the resistance between the ship’s hull and seawater by using air bubbles. The air bubble distribution across the hull surface reduces the resistance working on the ship’s hull, creating energy-saving effects.TMC’s marine compressed air systems for air lubrication systems can be utilised to generate the required stream of air bubbles that passes continuously beneath the ship’s surface…

Mathias Rusch, Director of the Marine business unit at SKF explains what trends are currently shaping the industry, what future challenges are emerging and how operators can manage the flood of data that is coming out of the digitalization revolution.Two major trends that shipowners and operators are currently dealing with are persistently low freight rates, which have been significantly depressing shipowners’ earnings for a number of years and the requirements concerning emissions into both air and water that continue to grow.

The board of directors at the Danish family-owned business Hans Jensen Lubricators appointed former Sales Manager Stefan Sletting Nielsen (34) as new Chief Commercial Officer.Stefan has been part of the company for more than five years. He has previously worked for Danish wholesaler Sanistaal, supplier of interior concepts Carl F International as well as the design company d line. Stefan has studied sales and management at Niels Brock Copenhagen Business College, and he has later completed the first module of an Executive MBA at AVT Business School in Copenhagen.For more than 101 years…

South Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) booked an order from Denmark’s  Celsius Tankers for two liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers, securing an option for further two vessels.A press release said that SHI won a newbuilding contract for two 180,000㎥ LNG carriers from a European shipowner Celsius Tankers. The price is 187 million USD per vessel. The LNG carriers would be equipped with Mark-Ⅲ Flex type containment system with re-liquefaction to lower BOR. The vessels are equipped for environmental regulations such as SCR and BWTS. They are also loaded with fuel saving technologies including optimized hull design and propulsion…

Tokyo-based Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK) Group is not only one of the world’s largest ship owners with a diverse fleet of more than 800 ships, it is a growing global maritime logistics powerhouse. Maritime Reporter & Engineering News visited with Yasuo Tanaka, Senior Managing Corporate Officer, Naval Architect, in Tokyo for his insights on the company’s continued efforts to invest in operational efficiency. The story of NYK cannot start without a look at the numbers, because the numbers tell the story in a most impressive fashion.

Gill Sensors & Controls Limited announced immediate availability of its new Oil Debris Sensor that provides continuous real-time monitoring of particle contamination in hydraulic and engine oil lubrication systems. The new sensor triggers either an immediate shutdown in cases of large particle build-up, or an early warning indication for needed maintenance in both cases preventing unexpected downtime. Typical applications include monitoring helicopter gearboxes, industrial gearboxes…

Specialty lubricants are used in a variety of applications, but what factors should you consider? Depending on the situation, specialty lubricants can complement an existing program, in order to obtain maximum efficiencies. Often, shipboard use of lubricants is influenced by two general objectives – rationalization of the lubricant inventory and cost management. Vessels have limited storage space and complex logistics supply systems. This creates a strong incentive to source lubricants that can be applied to several applications.

Those MarineNews readers who are not familiar with Bob Kunkel probably should be. That’s because Kunkel, President of Alternative Marine Technologies, previously served as the Federal Chairman of the Short Sea Shipping Cooperative Program under the Maritime Administration and Department of Transportation from 2003 until 2008. He is a past Vice President of the Connecticut Maritime Association, a contributing writer for many maritime and technical trades publications, including Maritime Professional Magazine and MarineNews.

In honor of Earth Day and the importance of year-round environmental awareness, cruise ship company Carnival Corporation & plc says it will meet its goal to reduce its rate of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from shipboard operations by 20 percent. This goal was established by the company as part of Carnival's ongoing efforts to reduce environmental impact from its operations. "Carnival has made the amount of GHG emissions released an indicator of our environmental improvement, and we are focused every day on finding innovative ways to cut down on these emissions," said Jim Van Langen, vice president of management systems for Carnival Corporation. He continued: "Announcing that Carnival is well on its way to meeting this goal is a great way to celebrate Earth Day and all that it stands for.

Russian Maritime Register of Shipping (RS) was the only Russian company to take part in SEA JAPAN 2014 exhibition and conference – one of the major exhibitions of the maritime industry. The event which brought together the leading industry representatives of the world took place between 9 to 11 April 2014 at the Tokyo Big Sight exhibition centre in Tokyo, Japan. The participants of the exhibition were 489 companies from 27 countries of the world. The special focus of the exhibition were the advanced global environment protection technologies including the development of diesel engines with low pollutant emission to the atmosphere, hi-tech energy saving devices and technologies such as air lubrication systems for ship hulls, solar batteries for ships and ecologically clean coatings.

Dresser-Rand, a global supplier of rotating equipment solutions to the oil, gas, petrochemical, power and process industries, will showcase technologies designed to improve efficiency and reduce life cycle costs for the offshore sector, including deep sea solutions, at the 2013 Offshore Technology Conference (OTC). Industry engineers and executives visiting booth #9659 will have the opportunity to learn more about Dresser-Rand offerings for deep sea and floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) applications.