With new shipping fuel regulations by the International Maritime Organization approaching in 2020, Shell is offering trials for its very low sulfur fuel oil, or VLSFO, in New Orleans and other key ports.
Safety4Sea also reports that Shell has launched a new two-stroke engine cylinder oil specifically for use with engines running on VLSFO.
The company has already conducted 19 successful trials of the 0.5% sulfur fuel with shipowners at key ports globally; the company notes more trials are planned for New Orleans, Rotterdam, and Singapore.
Until now the tests have shown that with the correct preparation, the fuels performed well in the engine, crews were comfortable using them and changeovers between grades did not lead to any extra workload for the engine crew, according to Shell.
In addition, Shell last month launched Shell Alexia 40. This is a new two-stroke engine cylinder oil specifically for use with engines running on VLSFO.
BP has also announced it is ready to sell a very low sulfur fuel oil ahead of the 2020 sulfur cap, which lowers the fuel emissions limit for the shipping industry. The company now aims to retail the new 0.5% sulfur VLSFO worldwide.
