Page 8: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (January 1984)

Modern Fuel Systems Symposium

Exchanges Of Experiences—Problems And Solutions—Prove Use Of

Heavy Fuels In Medium-Speed Diesel Engines Is Increasing And Economical

Two years ago Alfa-Laval, Inc. of Fort Lee, N.J. sponsored a sym- posium on modern fuel systems.

This symposium was so successful that a second symposium on the same subject was held recently in

St. Louis, Mo. This year's sympo- sium was sponsored by both Alfa-

Laval and Diesel Progress. It brought together engine builders, oil companies, shipyards, vessel owners and manufacturers of fuel- treatment additives.

The program was oriented to the needs of inland and coastal water- ways operators. The topics covered included basic fuel chemistry, fuel purification, additives, fuel blend- ing, heavy-fuel burning, engine design and operating experience.

The following excerpts from the papers presented (in order of pre- sentation) indicate the wide range of thoughts presented, including present and future problems with suggested solutions:

Cletus H. Jones, Belcher Oil

Company of Miami Fla., presented comments on "The Quality and

Availability of Blended Marine

Fuels in 1983." He stated that his definition of quality is "if the prod- uct does the job it was intended to do, that's quality. It may not smell good or look good—the laboratory analysis may indicate major defi- ciencies, but if it passes the per- formance test in the engine, it is a quality product."

He went on to state: purchasing blended marine fuels has an ele- ment of art to it. First of all, in- sisting on the lowest possible price at all times assures you of one thing—if there is a problem fuel in the market place, you will get your share of the headaches.

Another simple rule is to avoid confusing a fuel-supply specifica- tion with an engine specification.

The fuel coming over the rail, in most instances, is not the fuel in- jected into the combustion cham- ber. One is a treated fuel, the other is not. I realize this is basic stuff, but it amazes me how often sophisticated operators buy an ex- pensive grade of blended fuel be- cause, I suspect, they either don't know or don't trust their onboard treatment procedures.

In summary, the current high- speed diesel operator contemplat- ing installation of medium-speed residual-burning diesel engines will have to make some judgement calls on blended-fuel quality and availability. Unlike No. 2 diesel, the specifications for blended fuels are vague and there is a lot of in- formation missing. Progress on testing and the exchange of infor- mation is improving, but we still have a way to go.

Alternately, there are operators worldwide successfully using this type of equipment despite the aforementioned shortcomings.

Practically speaking, medium-speed engines are in general use every- where except the U.S. inland waterways.

Finally, let us keep in mind that the diesel engine originally was conceived to run using pulverized coal as fuel. It is a wonderfully adaptive and forgiving piece of equipment. Certainly in today's (continued on page 12)

EFFICIENCY

DECK AND AUXILIARY MACHINERY DESIGNING, BUILDING, REPAIRING

W .. 3500 Ton Dock 200 x 100' 90' Between

Wing Walls 1500 Ton Dock 160' x 80' 70' Between

Wing Walls 850 Ton Dock 60' x 150' 50' Between

Wing Walls 300 Ton Dock 50' x 80' 40' Between

Wing Walls

The Choice is Markey

Wilmington Transportation co.'s newest tug the 95' "PHILIP W." joins the fleet in handling many ships in these harbors. Once again Wilmington selects Markey deck machinery to give the tug the capability of working her chores more efficiently. Her Hydraulic stern Capstan and Gypsy Bitt Windlass are "MARKEY." How about yours? (MARKEY] flVIAIN IRON WORKS, INC.l)

REPAIR SERVICE

SERVING TUGS, PUSHERS, TOWBOATS, CREWBOATS,

SUPPLY BOATS, INLAND & OFFSHORE BARGES

HISTORY

Founded in 1948, Main Iron Works. Inc's current facilities are available for construction of new vessels ranging in size from 45' to 250 in length. Dry docking and a full range of repair services are also available, including a complete machine shop facility, sandblasting and painting services

With over thirty years experience and our record of service to the towing industry, Main ron Works, Inc. is ready to serve the needs of our past, present and future clients.

GENERAL SERVICES

Air control mechanics

Electrical repairs, trouble shooting

Hydraulic mechanics

Piping and plumbing repairs

Sandblasting and Painting

Complete machine shop service

A.B.S approved for stainless steel

Cladding on main shafts

Complete wood working shop

Four Dry Docks: 300 Ton Capacity 850-Ton Capacity 1500-Ton Capacity 3500-Ton Capacity completed 1st qtr 84

Machine Shop:

Lathes Capacity in feet — 36 Feet

Swing in inches — 30 Inches

Wet Slips:

Three slips available for your boats or barges to tie up while repairs or supplies are being completed

Shaft Storage Rack:

To avoid costly delay in waiting for transport of shafts, we provide our customers storage for their spare main shafts and rubber shafts.

Inventory:

Along with our parts inventory, we keep a stock of steel plates, pipe, angles, flat bars, and channels, all American Bureau of Shipping approved.

We also have a supply of forgings and bar castings which enable us to supply your needs efficiently

Crane Service: 100 Ton Fixed Stiffleg for Offloading and

Loading Supplies

All ot the services listed above are available on a 24-hour basis, seven days a week. Quotation and puce schedules are available upon request.

Located at 50 Mile Marker on Intracoastal Waterway

P.O. Box 1918

Houma. Louisiana 70361

CONTACT:

LeRoy Molaison • Henry Brunet

Otto Hughes • Wayne Piazza (504) 876-6302 • (504) 525-4020^

REPRESENTED BY

H.J./ WICKERT & CO . INC . 1550 Burke St - Unit 0

San Francisco. Ca 94124 • Ph 415-647-3500

J.H MENGE CO . INC.. P0 Box 23602

New Orleans La 70183 • Ph 504-733-4871

J H MENGE CO INC . 1011 World Trade Bldg 1520 Texas Ave Houston. Tx 77002 • 713-224-9750

MARKEY MACHINERY CO.. INC

P.O. Box 24788, Seattle. Wash. 9§124 79 S. Horton St., Seattle, Wash. 98134

Ph. 206-622-4697 10 Circle 106 on Reader Service Card Circle 108 on Reader Service Card