Oil Samples News

The Unified Command concluded its response to an oil sheen observed offshore of Huntington Beach, California on Monday, but the source of the oil remains unclear.Over the weekend, cleanup crews recovered approximately 85 gallons of product from offshore recovery efforts and removed roughly 1,050 pounds of oily waste/sand and tar balls from the shoreline.The U.S. Coast Guard and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Office of Spill Prevention and Response (CDFW-OSPR) collected samples from the offshore sheen and tar balls along the shoreline to help determine the source of the oil.

Fuels and lubricants supplier Chevron Marine launched a suite of digital solutions offering ship owners and operators tools with which to analyze, manage and ultimately help to improve their operational performance.Chevron Marine Cloud Solutions, including the customer order management platform OnePort launched last year, were developed under Chevron’s Business Technology Innovation (BTI) initiative as part of an ongoing, multi-year digitization investment program. The solutions are designed to integrate with customers’ processes…

Portline Bulk International S.A. pleaded guilty in federal court in Charleston, South Carolina, to one count of violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships and one count of Obstruction. The charges stem from the falsification of the Oil Record Book onboard the M/V Achilleus, a Maltese-flagged ocean-going bulk carrier ship managed by Defendant Portline.From April 2017 to August 2018, senior members of the vessel’s engineering team oversaw and participated in the bypass of the ship’s Oil Water Separator utilizing a yellow plastic hose, referred to as a magic pipe. The ship’s Chief Engineer made a series of fake entries and key omissions in the Oil Record Book in order to conceal the illegal overboard discharges of oily bilge water. On Aug.

International Maritime Organization (IMO)'s Sub-Committee on Pollution Prevention and Response (PPR) meets this week (18-22 February) at IMO headquarters.According to the UN body, the meeting will focus on finalizing draft Guidelines on consistent implementation of the 0.50% sulphur limit under MARPOL Annex VI. The aim of the Guidelines is to assist in the preparations for and uniform implementation of the lower limit for sulphur content in ships’ fuel oil, which will take effect on 1 January 2020 and will have a significant beneficial impact on human health and the environment."The meeting will also consider draft amendments to MARPOL…

Singapore authorities are looking to apply stricter control measures across the marine fuels sector supply chain, a spokeswoman for the government agency Enterprise Singapore said on Thursday, to boost transparency and accountability in a notoriously opaque industry.The Technical Committee for Bunkering has submitted a proposal to the national standards body, Enterprise Singapore, for a new standard on quantity, measurement and sampling requirements for transfer of bunker fuel from oil terminals to bunker tankers using mass flow metering, the spokeswoman said."This proposed standard complement

With a motto of Always Ready, the United States Coast Guard (USCG) has 11 missions specified by law including drug and migrant interdiction; ports, waterways and coastal security; fishery patrols; search and rescue; and national defense. The USCG’s newest ships including 22 Fast Response Cutters (FRCs) recently entered service with 36 more on order and six new National Security Cutters (NSCs) with two more in the process of being built. Oil analysis plays a critical role in the…

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) says it is encouraged by efforts made by IMO Member States to resolve some pressing practical challenges ahead of the global implementation of the 0.5 percent sulphur in fuel cap on January 1, 2020.Speaking after an IMO working group meeting last week, to which the industry submitted a number of constructive proposals to help ensure smooth and consistent implementation, ICS Secretary General, Peter Hinchliffe, remarked, “Although there is still much work to be done, last week’s IMO discussions were positive. Most important is that governments have acknowledged the safety concerns raised by industry about the use of compliant fuels including possible incompatibility.

International Bunker Industry Association (IBIA) is continuing its efforts for IMO to adopt guidelines ahead of 2020 that will promote a uniform approach to fuel oil testing and reporting protocol for the verification of compliance with MARPOL Annex VI sulphur limits. Earlier this year, IBIA submitted two papers to the 5th session of the IMO’s Sub-Committee on Pollution Prevention and Response (PPR 5) proposing a way ahead on sulphur testing and compliance verification. Both papers will be forwarded to a PPR intersessional working group (ISWG) taking place at the IMO in July. In PPR 5/12/1, IBIA proposes establishing appropriate guidelines for verifying the sulphur content in fuel oil samples taken from ships’ fuel systems (in-use samples).

A proposal by China to mandate specific ISO test methods for sulphur, building on a proposal made by IBIA to the IMO earlier this year, has won support to be further considered as the IMO works on measures to ensure uniform implementation of the 0.50% sulphur limit. China submitted its proposal to the 72nd session of the IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 72) last week, proposing that the test method of sulphur content of fuel oil should be made mandatory to avoid disputes, and that the methods should be ISO 8754:2003 or ISO 14596:2007. China’s submission further noted: “ Document PPR 5/13/9 (IBIA) proposes adding the…

Parker Kittiwake launched the Parker Kittiwake Attenuated Total Reflection (ATR) analyzer, which the company says represents a breakthrough for the simultaneous testing of base number (BN), total acid number (TAN), insolubles, soot loading, viscosity, FAME and water content of oil samples on board a ship, allowing all parameters to be measured using a single sample in one test kit. The ATR analyzer uses infrared spectroscopy to determine the presence of damaging elements such as solid particles or water in a representative sample of oil.

DNVPS has warned that cat fines levels are increasing year by year. Lower sulphur marine fuels have even higher cat fines levels than typical heavy fuel oils (HFO). The ExxonMobil MobilGard lube oil monitoring service, concludes that 43 percent of all ships “have a potentially catastrophic issue with cat fines,” based on testing more than 400,000 marine diesel oil samples. So, cat fines are a very serious threat to every ship burning heavy fuel oils. What is the solution? Many have studied this serious problem, and all have come to the same basic conclusion: eliminating the 3 to 5 micron cat fines (and larger) will prevent the cat fines from damaging fuel injection pumps, fuel injectors, piston rings, pistons, cylinder liners, exhaust valve seats and stuffing box seals.

In-depth data analysis of more than 400,000 oil samples from ExxonMobil’s MobilGard Cylinder Condition Monitoring (CCM) program has identified the wide range of potentially damaging engine issues facing vessel operators. With operators challenged by continued economic pressures and changing regulations, the need to protect engines and drive operational efficiencies is more important than ever. MobilGard CCM is designed to help optimize engine protection and minimize operating costs.

Two German shipping companies that owned and operated the Motor Vessel (M/V) Nils B, pleaded guilty today to an environmental crime in federal court in San Diego before the Honorable Jan M. Adler, announced Assistant Attorney General John C. Cruden and United States Attorney Laura E. Duffy. W. Bockstiegel Reederei GmbH  & Co. KG (which operated the vessel) and W. Bockstiegel GmbH & Co. Reederei KG MS “NILS B” (which owned the vessel), pleaded guilty to one felony violation of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships for failing to accurately maintain an oil record book for the M/V Nils B. In doing so, the firms failed to disclose that oil contaminated water had been discharged into the ocean from the vessel without the use of pollution prevention equipment.

As of April 2016, Shell Marine Products (SMP) has analyzed more than 50,000 cylinder drain oils samples via its Shell Rapid Lubricants Analysis (RLA) oil condition monitoring service. By identifying potential oil or equipment issues before they become critical, many shipping companies use Shell RLA as part of their planned maintenance regime. Shell RLA helps to deliver greater equipment reliability and reduced downtime. Shell said this service has grown rapidly in recent years…

Volvo Penta today announced a new extended service interval for its commercial marine diesel engines. “We recognize that minimizing downtime is a critical requirement for commercial marine operators,” said Marcia Kull, Vice President-Marine Sales, for Volvo Penta of the Americas. Volvo Penta launched its oil analysis program in 2014 to make it easy to obtain expert diagnostics of engine oil. A factory authorized oil analysis provides a basic driveline health check yielding a wealth of information on what’s happening inside an engine. Oil samples are sent to a Volvo Penta authorized laboratory, where technicians perform a rigorous full-spectrum analysis. The laboratory sends back a complete report by email within 24-48 hours with recommendations for actions.

Intertek’s Farnborough laboratory is supporting P&O Cruises’ new flagship Britannia by providing independent oil condition monitoring (OCM) services which monitor the condition of Britannia’s engines and other oil lubricated systems. Britannia, the largest cruise ship designed exclusively for British holiday market, set sail from Southampton last month to fulfill a busy timetable of Mediterranean cruisers which does not allow for unexpected engine and machinery repairs or time out of service.

U.S. Carbofin S.p.A., an Italian domiciled company that owned and operated the M/T Marigola was sentenced to pay an overall criminal penalty of $2.75 million for knowingly falsifying the vessel’s oil record book in violation of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS), announced the Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida. During 2013 and 2014, on numerous international voyages, senior members of the crew of the M/T Marigola directed the installation and use of a so-called “magic hose” to dispose of sludge, waste oil and oil-contaminated bilge water directly into the sea bypassing required pollution prevention equipment.

Cairn together with its joint venture partners have announced that the FAN-1 exploration well, offshore Senegal, has discovered oil. The well, located in 1,427 metres (m) water depth and approximately 100 kilometres offshore in the Sangomar Deep block, has reached a Target Depth (TD) of 4,927 m and was targeting multiple stacked deepwater fans. As stated prior to the commencement of operations there are no plans for immediate well testing. Further evaluation will now be required to calibrate the well with the existing 3D seismic in order to determine future plans and optimal follow up locations to determine the extent of the discovered resource.

The U.S. Coast Guard and Washington State Department of Ecology continue to oversee the cleanup and investigate the cause of an oil spill that appeared earlier this week in the Ballard Mill Marina, on Salmon Bay, along the Lake Washington Ship Canal. The Coast Guard and Ecology received reports Monday morning of oil, accompanied by strong petroleum odors in the waters. No one has come forward to take responsibility for the spill, and the Coast Guard has utilized the federal Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund to hire Global Diving and Salvage to conduct the cleanup. The Coast Guard and Ecology have established a unified command to plan and oversee cleanup work.

Apache Corporation  today announced an oil discovery at the Phoenix South-1 well - the company's first discovery in Australia's offshore Canning Basin. Wireline and formation pressure tools have confirmed at least four discrete oil columns ranging in thickness between 85 and 151 feet (26 to 46 meters) in the Triassic Lower Keraudren formation, within an overall, sand-rich section between 13,648 and 14,763 feet below sea level (4,160 to 4,500 meters). Six light oil samples have been recovered from three intervals to date; permeability measurements from the sampled zones indicate a productive oil reservoir with preliminary estimates that there might be as much as 300 million barrels of oil in place.* Evaluation of the formation penetrated in the Phoenix South-1 is under way…

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported that results to a new study conducted by a team of NOAA and academic scientists suggest that crude oil from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster causes severe defects in the developing hearts of bluefin and yellowfin tunas. The findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on the 25th anniversary of the Exxon Valdez oil spill, show how the largest marine oil spill in United States history…

As part of ongoing research nearly four years after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, scientists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) will team up with a group of high school students in Florida to collect remnants of oil from Gulf Coast beaches this week. Marine chemist Chris Reddy studies how the many compounds that compose petroleum hydrocarbon, or oil, behave and change over time after an oil spill. He and his researchers have collected and analyzed about 1,000 oil samples from the Gulf Coast since the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

ExxonMobil Marine Fuels & Lubricants has launched Mobilgard 5100, a specially formulated cylinder oil designed to mitigate the effects of cold corrosion in new design two-stroke marine engines operating on heavy fuel oil. Mobilgard 5100 joins Mobilgard 560 VS and Mobilgard 570 as the latest addition to ExxonMobil’s range of world class cylinder oils, with each product specifically engineered to help ship operators increase vessel reliability and reduce operating costs. ExxonMobil created Mobilgard 5100, a 100 BN cylinder oil, working in close collaboration with leading marine engine builders.