Is Stern Tube Damage Declining?
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…
Venezuela's Oil Exports Plummet to Lowest in 19 Months on Port Delays
Venezuela's oil exports last month fell to the lowest level since October 2020 as repairs at the country's main oil port added to delays shipping cargoes, documents from state-run PDVSA and vessel tracking data showed.Exports from the U.S.-sanctioned country were recovering this year following a pact with Iran that provided a stable supply of diluents needed for producing exportable grades and lighter crudes for making refined products.But shipping delays linked to oil quality issues…
Iranian Condensate Cargo arrives in Venezuela
A 2.1 million barrel cargo of Iranian condensate arrived in Venezuela's waters this week, vessel tracking data and a company document showed, ferrying supplies to state-run oil firm PDVSA to dilute its extra heavy oil for export.U.S.-sanctioned Venezuela and Iran last year agreed to a contract for exchanging Iranian condensate, a very light form of oil, for Venezuelan heavy crude. The trade has proven key to sustaining PDVSA's production and expanding its exports.The Iranian-flagged very large crude carrier (VLCC) Dan, operated by state-owned National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC), entered Venezuelan Jose port's anchorage on Tuesday…
Singapore Adds 23 Charges Against Founder of Oil Trader Hin Leong
A Singapore prosecutor filed 23 additional forgery-related charges on Friday against Lim Oon Kuin, the founder of collapsed oil trading firm Hin Leong Trading Pte Ltd.Last year, police had charged the 79-year-old former oil tycoon, better known as O K Lim, with two counts of abetment of forgery for the purpose of cheating.Friday's charges accuse Lim of instigating a Hin Leong employee to forge documents supposedly issued by UT Singapore Services Pte Ltd.The paperwork stated that Hin Leong had transferred cargoes of oil products to China Aviation Oil (Singapore) Corp between June 2019 and March 2020, the charge sheets showed.Lim was also…
New MAN Fluid Monitor for Lube Oil
MAN Energy Solutions launched a monitoring device for industrial lube oil.The MAN Fluid Monitor for lube oil is a light and robust system developed to meet the needs of the owners of industrial installations where lube-oil quality is a critical setting. It is said to enable owners to actively monitor – on an ongoing basis – the degradation and contamination of lube oil and protect their industrial assets. The fluid monitor immediately detects even the tiniest anomalies in the lube-oil systems of four stroke engines…
ZF Unveils Condition Monitoring for Thruster Systems
Marine propulsion systems company ZF has introduced an intelligent Condition Monitoring System for thrusters. The technology monitors the status of the thruster system and helps shipyards, shipping companies and fleet operators maintain the safety and efficiency of their ships as well as extend the service life of the propulsion system. In addition to that, a new oil cleaning system ensures oil quality and prolongs oil service life.ZF’s Condition Monitoring System is equipped with various sensors and an intelligent electronic evaluation unit.
Russian Oil Contamination Still a Problem for Buyers at Ust-Luga Port
Russian oil quality from the Baltic port of Ust-Luga was improving on Thursday but still not good enough for refiners in Europe, with required standards expected only by May 11, trading sources said.The oil has been contaminated with organic chlorides, which can destroy refining equipment.
Intercargo Asks IMO to Address Challenges of 2020
In addition to progress made on a number of important issues, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) at its recent Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 73) listened to the concerns raised by the International Association of Dry Cargo Shipowners (Intercargo) and others and offered a constructive way forward to potentially address them.The association of shipowners, managers and operators of dry cargo vessels and represent better this shipping sector said that it is critical, especially for the tramp sector, to ensure an effective implementation process for the 2020 Sulphur Cap regulation."The MEPC agreed to consider at its next sessions…
USCG Implements Handheld Technology for Onboard Oil Testing
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…
IMO to Use IBIA’s Best Practice for Suppliers
The first edition of IBIA’s “Best practice guidance for suppliers for assuring the quality of bunkers delivered to ships” was welcomed by the 72nd session of the IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 72) last week, where it was agreed that it would be a good basis for the development of IMO guidance. For the past few years, an IMO Correspondence Group on Fuel oil quality (CG) has been working on developing draft guidance on best practice for assuring the quality of fuel oil delivered for use on board ships. The initial aim was to produce a trinity of such guidance documents: one for bunker purchasers/users; one for bunker suppliers; and one for Member States/coastal States.
All Eyes on 2020
The International Maritime Organization’s proposals to reduce sulfur levels in marine fuels to a maximum of 0.5 percent m/m (mass/mass) by 2020 may prove to be controversial, having met with various responses from major shipping organisations and other bodies. The decision to implement the proposals by 2020 was taken by IMO, the regulatory authority for international shipping, during its Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 70) meeting, which was held in London, UK in October 2016, and represents a significant reduction from the 3.5 percent m/m global limit currently in place.
BIMCO Raises Concern on Global Sulphur Cap Implementation
BIMCO raises serious concern over data on available fuel ahead of MEPC decision on global sulphur cap implementation date. BIMCO, the world’s largest international shipping association, has today voiced serious concerns about some of the conclusions of the official study that will inform the decision of the MEPC over the implementation date of the 0.5% global sulphur cap. -On fuel oil quality. A significant amount of the fuel oil that the IMO study concludes will be available for marine use is unsafe to store and use onboard ships. -On how an assessed shortage of sulphur removal capacity in refineries will be resolved so that capacity would be in place by 2020. -The study fails to model the disruption that an overnight introduction of the global cap (from 31 December 2019) would cause.
Cairn Confirms Successful Senegal Appraisal
Cairn informed that the successful testing of the SNE-2 appraisal well offshore Senegal with positive results. Operations have been safely and successfully completed following drilling, coring, logging and drill-stem testing (DST). The well is now being plugged and abandoned. Following this first successful appraisal well, resource estimates for the SNE field will be fully revised and announced after the results of the further appraisal activity. * DST over a 15m interval (~3.5m net) of relatively low quality “heterolithic” pay flowed at a maximum rate of ~1,000 bopd on a 24/64” choke, confirming that these reservoirs are able to produce at viable rates and thus make a material contribution to resource volumes.
Miss Berdie Gets a Makeover
When she came into the Fred Wahl shipyard in Reedsport, Oregon, the Miss Berdie was a fine looking boat with a bright red hull. When she left the yard this summer she was still a fine looking red vessel but bigger and better. After taking the 77 by 27.8 by 11.5-foot boat apart, the crew at Fred Wahl’s, working with a design by Hockema & Whalen Associates, put her back together with a 39-foot beam, a 12.7-foot molded depth and an overall registered length of 80.8 feet. In order to keep regulatory requirements regarding the overall length…
IMO’s MEPC Set to Adopt Polar Code Provisions
The Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) meets for its 68th session from May 11-15, 2015, at IMO Headquarters in London. Items on the agenda include the proposed adoption of the environmental part of the Polar Code and associated draft MARPOL amendments to make the Code mandatory; the implementation of the Ballast Water Management Convention; further work on air pollution and energy efficiency measures; and a proposal to extend the Great Barrier Reef and Torres Strait Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA) to parts of the Coral Sea.
Tanker Backlog Builds at Basra
Ships face up to a three week wait; bad weather in February delayed loading, created backlog. SINGAPORE, April 1 (Reuters) - A backlog of over 30 oil tankers has built up outside the Iraqi port of Basra and shippers face lengthy delays of up to three weeks to load oil because of bad weather and possible oil quality issues, shipping industry sources said. The problems could delay or limit the number of oil export cargoes from Basra in April, potentially pushing down tanker freight rates, two Singapore ship brokers familiar with the issue said. More than 30 oil tankers, two-thirds of them supertankers (VLCC), with a combined capacity of around 50 million barrels are currently lying outside Basra, some of them since mid-March, Reuters shipping data shows.
MEPC Makes Progress on Energy Efficiency, Emissions
The Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) met for its 67th session from October 13-17, 2014, at IMO Headquarters in London. The MEPC approved the Third IMO GHG Study 2014 providing updated estimates for greenhouse gas emissions from ships. The Third IMO GHG Study 2014 estimates that international shipping emitted 796 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) in 2012, against 885 million metric tons in 2007. This represented 2.2% of the global emissions of CO2 in 2012, against 2.8% in 2007.
Oils and Oil Analysis: What You Need to Know
In any given lubricant (such as engine oil, transmission fluid or gear oil), there are three main factors that influence the “useful life” of the lubricant: Viscosity Stability, Oxidation, and Contamination. While it is important to understand how these factors affect oil life, it is equally important to realize that none of these factors can be measured or monitored except through a thorough and ongoing oil analysis program. Viscosity - First, let’s examine the oil property known as “Viscosity.” Viscosity is defined as resistance of an oil to flow at a given temperature.
DNV KEMA’s Open Multiphase Flow Lab
Energy consulting, testing and certification company DNV KEMA will open a new Multiphase Flow Laboratory (MPFL) in Groningen, the Netherlands. The facility will allow equipment manufactures and oil and gas companies to test, validate and calibrate multiphase technologies – e.g. separators and flow meters – for the production of oil and gas and the measurement and trading of gas. As the MPFL is operating in a unique true-to-life environment, the facility will help increasing the accuracy of future multiphase flow meters, as well as the efficiency of future multiphase separators.
Transocean Orders Kittiwake's Thrusterscan
Kittiwake announced an order for its ThrusterSCAN product from Transocean. ThrusterSCAN marks a new era in online condition monitoring for azimuthing thrusters, helping to predict failure, enabling preventative maintenance and ultimately reducing costly downtime. Kittiwake’s ThrusterSCAN will be installed on Transocean’s eight-thruster Development Driller III rig. ThrusterSCAN delivers early warning of thruster component damage, lubricant degradation and seal leaks/failures; providing critical information to help optimise thruster operating parameters and effectively manage overhaul schedules.
Meeting Quantity And Quality Challenge Remains Priority For Shipping Industry
OW Bunker, one of the world’s leading suppliers and traders of marine fuel oil, highlighted today the impact that mass flow meters can have in solving the ‘quantity issue’ and demonstrated the steps that it is taking to ensure product quality in an event attended by key customers including DFDS, Maersk Oil, Odfjell Tankers, U-Sea Bulk, Grieg Star Shipping and Torvald Klaveness Group. The event, which took place in Copenhagen, invited over 100 customers and industry opinion formers to see a live demonstration…
USCG Lessons Learned: Proper Maintenance
A partial propulsion failure occurring on a commercial vessel can result in significant injury and damage when the movement of the vessel is unchecked and an allision or collision occurs. In some circumstances a significant amount of hull damage can occur at very slow speeds, while in others, multiple fatalities may occur. Owners and operators, and those responsible for vessel maintenance, specifically steerage and propulsion systems may find the following information useful and recognize the need to examine their own vessel's equipment and maintenance systems. Although the following speaks to a specific propulsion system, the noted lessons are useful for any type. The vessel was equipped with cycloidal drive units fore and aft.
Holding Your Breath
Ship Tracks South of , a satellite image acquired by NASA on March 4, 2009. On March 4, 2009, the skies over the northeast were streaked with clouds that form around the particles in ship exhaust. This pair of images shows how these ship tracks are different from the natural marine clouds in the same area. The top image is a natural-color (photo-like) view of the ship tracks. The image below reveals more information than a picture: it shows the size of the cloud droplets. Both…
