Page 67: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (December 2014)

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At SMM in Hamburg ExxonMobil launched Mo- bilgard 525, a cylinder oil with a 25 Base Number (BN) that is specifi cally engineered for used with fuel containing 0.1% sulfur, and approved by MAN and

Wärtsilä for use in two stroke engines. “This will enable the two stoke slow speed engines to run effectively on low sulfur fuel, as the cylinder lubes available currently, the BN level is simply too high,” said Iain White, Global Field Marketing Man- ager, ExxonMobil Marine Fuels & Lubricants.

Ships entering Emission Control Areas (ECAs) af- ter January 1, 2015 must use fuel with a maximum 0.1% sulfur content. Though the transition has been widely publicized globally, there remains confusion and resistance among ship owners. ExxonMobil, with its Mobilgard 525, seeks to ease the transition.

If the BN of your cylinder lubricant is too high, “the hot areas of the piston, which is the piston crown and the top of the sides you get deposit build up if the BN is too high in conjunction with the low sulfur fuel, be- cause you’re not using that additive for neutralization purposes … you simply don’t need it. So it plates out on the piston and causes wear,” White explains.

The 25 BN formulation has been engineered using high quality base oils and an advanced ‘balanced for- mulation’ approach. To put it simply, it’s all a matter of chemistry. “The challenge is that the chemistry that goes into the product to do all of that neutralization is also the chemistry that (helps to keep the engine clean),” said

White. “So as you take that out to reduce the depos- its, you have to struggle to keep your engine clean, and your problem moves from the crown lands where you get deposits back to the ring pack where it gets very dirty. We’ve cracked that challenge by balancing the chemistry so that the oil does its job; deposits are minimized and the engine stays clean.”

With an avalanche of new rules regarding emissions from diesel engines coming into force starting now and extending through 2020, the fuel and lube buy and procedure for ship owners promises to get even more convoluted. “It’s really a complex picture,” said White, noting that the roster of choices includes fuel switch-over in

ECA zones, the use of distillates, outfi tting ships with scrubbers or incorporating a growing list of alterna- tive fuels, starting with LNG. “From ExxonMobil’s perspective, instead of bringing a new product out and going to the customers to talk about the new product, we fi rst of all go to the customer to talk about their challenge. For example we’ve made an insights fi lm into the cold corrosion issue, because we’re fi nding that people don’t understand that. We do the training fi rst.”

Mobilgard 525

New cylinder oil for two stroke slow speed engines to facilitate compliance with the 0.1% sulfur fuel in the ECAs.

MR #12 (66-73).indd 67 12/2/2014 2:51:18 PM