Maersk to Address ‘Blending-On-Board’

Visitors to the 2016 European Marine Engineering Conference in Amsterdam this year will be able to hear a keynote speech from Maersk Fluid Technology managing director Jens Byrgesen, who will talk about his company’s success with “Blending-On-Board” lubrication technology.

Maersk’ SEA-Mate Blending-On-Board concept is based on proprietary technology designed to enable the operator to custom blend a fit-for-purpose cylinder lubricant from recycled two-stroke system oil and a cylinder oil concentrate with a base-number up above 300 BN.

The SEA-Mate concept is designed to address the needs of today’s operational challenges, such as slow-steaming, changes between different fuel types with different sulphur content, crankcase cleanliness issues and system oil performance concerns.

The topic of Blending-On-Board divides opinion within the industry, with many leading lube manufacturers advising caution, but with a number of shipowners apparently seeing benefits from employing the technology. Independent consulting company BWSC has documented that the system facilitates a fuel consumption reduction up to 1.5 percent, and owners find it is possible to reduce lube oil consumption by up to 50 percent.

The first Blending-On-Board systems were commissioned back in 2008 and today there are more than 200 systems in active operation. As an example, Blending-On-Board was installed on Emma Maersk in 2012. Back then, Maersk Line estimated cost savings from reduced lubricant and fuel consumption for Emma Maersk in excess of $100,000 per year and the total operating savings from the Blending-On-Board technology installed on Maersk Line ships to be in excess of US$17 million per year.

Delegates will have the chance to quiz Byrgesen on the virtues of this technology.

The Marine Lubes session of the European Marine Engineering Conference begins at 15:20 on April 13 at the Mövenpick Hotel, Amsterdam.