Veritas Petroleum Services News

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, which oversees the world's biggest marine refuelling hub, said it is investigating the suspected contamination of bunker fuel supplied to several ships in the port and had ordered supply of the batch to be halted.At least 14 ships that received tainted high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) from Singapore suffered loss of power and engine problems, Veritas Petroleum Services (VPS) said late last week."We detected contamination in 34 fuel samples and we are aware of 14 vessels that have suffered damages.

A major bunker fuel contamination has affected at least 14 shipping vessels that received high sulfur fuel oil (HSFO) from Singapore, fuel, and oil testing firm Veritas Petroleum Services (VPS) said.The company said an increasing number of ships were getting affected by the tainted bunker fuel after 34 vessels were identified to have received HSFO deliveries from two unnamed Singapore suppliers over the last two months that were contaminated with up to 2,000 parts per million…

Leading Greek shipping industry stakeholders joined ABS, a global provider of classification and technical advisory services to the marine and offshore industries, for a workshop on drafting 2020 sulfur limit Ship Implementation Plans (SIP).Intended to help shipping companies and crew ready their vessels for compliance with the required sulfur content limit of 0.50% by 1 January 2020, the ABS workshop identified risks associated with design and operations of vessels in relation to the IMO regulation, including a HAZID study. “As the leading class organization in Greece, many in the industry are looking to ABS for guidance in managing the transition to operating under the 2020 sulfur limit.

DNV GL opens LNG test center. The facility, at the organization’s existing renewable energy technology and gas laboratory site is the first type of facility with a capacity compatible for the downstream sector. Its capacity is up to 250kg of liquefied gas and boasts a heat exchanger that allows the temperature of the LNG – and therefore its boil-off – to be precisely regulated. Johan Holstein, Head of gas testing and analysis at DNV GL – Oil & Gas, said the testing of new sensor technology to rapidly identify the composition of LNG would be a priority. “The current accredited technology, gas chromatography, can take 3-5 minutes to show the composition of LNG,” Holstein explained.

The marine fuels testing company Veritas Petroleum Services (VPS) announced the latest expansion of the company’s lubricant oil condition monitoring (OCM) service. In the company’s continuous drive to offer its customers a widening range of technically advanced, value-added services, VPS have made a significant financial investment to equip their Rotterdam Laboratory with the very latest analytical technology, automation and robotics for the testing of lubricants. The introduction of such advanced equipment and systems, enables a significant increase in the laboratory’s capacity and efficiency and will further assist VPS clients’ effective condition monitoring and routine maintenance programmes.

Veritas Petroleum Services (VPS) and Seagull Maritime AS announced today that they have signed a collaborative agreement that will capitalise on their complementary strengths to bring state-of-the-art fuel management training to the maritime industry. First conceived to plug a gap in the knowledge and experience of ship managers and vessel crews in fuel management, this novel but comprehensive computer-based training tool is now being developed to provide e-learning onboard and ashore. “As the pioneer of fuel quality testing and analysis with more than three decades of global experience, we have noticed a pressing need for seafarers to fully understand fuel quality issues and learn how to handle such challenges.

Veritas Petroleum Services (VPS) and DNV GL have launched a new Fuel Analytics solution. As part of DNV GL’s ECO Insight fleet performance management portal, the tool will enable a systematic assessment of the impact of fuel quality on vessel performance. The Fuel Analytics solution is the result of an ongoing close cooperation between VPS and DNV GL. “We have been the largest fuel testing services provider since our inception in 1981,” said Gerard Rohaan, CEO of VPS. “And as a result we have the world’s largest fuel sampling database – over two million tested samples.

Veritas Petroleum Services (VPS) expressed reservations about some of the proposed revisions to the international ISO 8217 specifications of marine fuels. Areas of significance include proposed changes that may be unfavourable to ship owners and operators. Clause 5.3 of the current ISO 8217:2012, the fifth version, states that “fuels shall be free from any material that renders the fuel unacceptable for use in marine applications”. There is also explicit mention in Clause 5.5 that “The fuel shall not contain any additive at the concentration used in the fuel, or any added substance or chemical waste that jeopardizes the safety of the ship or adversely affects the performance of the machinery, or is harmful to personnel, or contributes overall to additional air pollution”.

A new Cat Fines Test Kit has been launched by asset control and protection technology provider Parker Kittiwake. The onboard test identifies the presence of abrasive silicon and aluminum catalytic fines, which can become embedded into engine components and cause abrasive wear, causing irreversible damage to a vessel’s fuel system if left undetected. When fuel is stored for extended periods of time, cat fines – leftovers from the refinery cracking process – settle out of the fuel and build up as sediment in storage tanks.

Wilh. Wilhelmsen ASA and Callenberg Technology Group were presented the 2015 SHIPPINGInsight Award was today at the SHIPPINGInsight 2015 Fleet Optimization Conference & Exhibition in Stamford, Conn. The annual award honors a shipping company and its technology partners for the implementation of an innovative technology or initiative that advanced the state-of-the-art in fleet optimization. Callenberg developed an innovative engine room energy management technology solution for Wilh. Wilhelmsen that reduced wasted energy through capacity-driven control and management of engine room ventilation systems. The Callenberg technology alters the ventilation and combustion air supply to meet the demand of fresh air to the engine room.

Veritas Petroleum Services (VPS) and DNV GL signed a cooperation agreement to develop a new module for DNV GL’s ECO Insight fleet performance management solution at the Nor-Shipping trade fair. By tapping into the world’s largest fuel sampling database, this module will allow owners, operators and managers to determine how fuel quality can result in performance differences between similar vessels. “Fuel quality is a factor which is often overlooked in performance management, but it can have a significant impact.

Forced by regulation to clean up, ship owners have never been so keenly aware of the exact emissions coming from their ships. And when it comes to cleaning up, Alfa Laval is there every step of the way, as Peter Leifland, President, Marine & Diesel Division, Alfa Laval, explains. Alfa Laval can be found on many ships worldwide, at work with a wide variety of applications and processes. As a global supplier with a full network of service and support, it provides strong technical competence in diverse areas…

DNV GL’s latest Container Ship Forum and Bulk Carrier Forum looked at a broad spectrum of topics including environmental regulations, trends in ship design as well as the new DNV GL rule set. Some 150 representatives from the container and bulk industry met with DNV GL experts at the forums in Hamburg to hear the presentations and participate in informal discussions. As economy of scale is reducing transportation costs per box, the demand for ever bigger vessels is continuing.

The "4th Annual Conference on the Outlook for Bunkering and Marine Lubricants in India" will be held on Thursday, December 4, 2014 at the Hotel Vivanta by Taj-President, Cuffe Parade, Mumbai. With the demand for shipping fuel at major Indian ports having climbed in the past week by up to 25 percent as the cost of refuelling at Singapore, Asia's bunkering hub, soared following the collapse of the world's leading supplier, the organisers are getting set to meet the last minute rush for registraion.

DNV Petroleum Services’ (DNVPS) independence from Det Norske Veritas (DNV) less than a year ago led to the creation of Veritas Petroleum Services (VPS), a new entity that continues to retain its global leadership in fuel management services and enduring collaborative partnership with DNV GL. Just as its new name draws on its illustrious past, VPS, the leader for maritime testing and surveys unveiled  a new brand and visual identity that represents its maritime roots as well as…