LATEST UPDATE ON ARB REGULATIONS FOR OCEAN GOING VESSELS IN CALIFORNIA WATERS

Please refer to our technical update 2010/4/7.

We had informed you that the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association had successfully appealed CARB regulations mandating the applicability to 24 nautical miles off the coast.

At that time, the court had agreed that the CARB had no mandate to regulate air pollution beyond 3 nautical miles from the coast.

Read more: LATEST UPDATE ON ARB REGULATIONS FOR OCEAN GOING VESSELS IN CALIFORNIA WATERS

UNACCEPTABLE CONTAMINATION LEVELS IN BUNKER FUELS

A few days ago we reported on a number of contaminants present in bunker fuels supplied in Houston and at least three ships reporting machinery damage. We are now reporting about a sample of fuel bunkered in Sevilla, Spain.

It would appear that since ISO 8217 does not check for presence of contaminants, far too many liberties are being taken with bunker fuel supplied.

Read more: UNACCEPTABLE CONTAMINATION LEVELS IN BUNKER FUELS

Low Sulphur MGO myth?

With just few days to go before the  1  January  2010  start-date for  the European Union  (EU) rule  mandating  consumption  of  0.1% sulphur  content marine  gasoil  (MGO) in  port,  shipowners  are  investigating all  options  to  ensure  that  auxiliary diesel  engines  and  boilers  will  safely accommodate the new fuel.

Read more: Low Sulphur MGO myth?

AMENDMENTS TO EU SULFUR DIRECTIVE

EU officials stated that they would amend the EU sulfur directive. The new directive would be made public by 2011. The amendment pertains to harmonizing the EU regulations with those of Marpol Annex VI.

Read more: AMENDMENTS TO EU SULFUR DIRECTIVE

INTERPRETING REGULATIONS ON SULFUR CONTENT IN MARINE FUELS

With reference to the 1.00% sulfur limit in ECA areas, we have received many queries from our customers and we give interpretations below.
The bodies that will ensure compliance will the MARPOL regulations will be the State Port Authorities. Already, Norway has announced that they will accept 1.00% sulfur content only.

Read more: INTERPRETING REGULATIONS ON SULFUR CONTENT IN MARINE FUELS

DNV identifies critical issues on marine fuel

A DNV Petroleum Services (DNVPS) survey on the operational impact of the European Union 0.1% marine fuel sulphur limit – enforced on Jan 1 this year – has revealed potentially critical issues.
Among the 65 shipping companies that responded to the survey, 40 percent felt the EU member states were not harmonised in applying regulatory standards when verifying compliance with the 0.1% marine fuel sulphur limit. This lack of uniformity could confuse and dampen the shipping community’s confidence in the ability of the EU to enforce its own environmental regulations.

“DNV had previously expressed concerns that the 0.1% sulphur cap effectively meant ships at berth in the community ports must use marine gas oil, notwithstanding many of the boilers on board would not have been modified by Jan 1 to burn this type of fuel,” said DNVPS managing director Tore Morten Wetterhus. “Now that more ships are presumably equipped with the installations to minimize gas oil-related risks, such as fuel pump leakage and boiler explosion, shipboard personnel face new worries not knowing what to expect from port state inspections in different EU ports.”

Close to 40% of the respondents said their vessels did not have the tank flexibility to segregate gas oil and heavy fuel oil. Another 15% reported filter choking and fuel pump seizures when switching from normal sulphur heavy fuel oil to the much more expensive gas oil on entering the EU community ports.

Surprisingly, almost a third of the respondents did not routinely test the quality of their gas oil purchases, despite the risks of their ships consuming fuels not compliant with the 0.1% fuel sulphur limit.

In the worst case, an untested fuel could be so severely ‘off-specification’ that it causes substantial engine damage and jeopardizes the safety of crew and cargo at sea.

“As a marine fuel management company, it is especially unsettling for DNVPS to find that some ship operators are gambling with safety when they choose to use gas oil of unknown quality. There must be much more awareness on problems commonly associated with this type of fuel; for instance, low flashpoint and low viscosity,” Mr Wetterhus cautioned.

On a brighter note, he said 90% of the survey respondents believed their crews were familiar with the onboard routines for complying with the EU fuel regulations, but many also felt continuous training would be necessary.

To update the shipping community on marine fuel regulations, related operational challenges, and the latest changes to the ISO 8217 marine fuel specification, DNVPS has been organising seminars and round-table discussions in its key markets. Targeted locations include Singapore, the Netherlands, Norway, Greece, Germany, Dubai, USA and Canada.