Oil major Shell has undertaken 19 trials of its 0.5% sulphur fuel with shipowners at key ports globally ahead of the IMO 2020 sulphur cap implementation date.
The company said that all trials 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 result in any extra workload for the engine crew.”
Shell will be carrying out further trials in New Orleans, Rotterdam, and Singapore.
In addition to new fuel trials, in April the company announced the launch of Shell Alexia 40, a new two-stroke engine cylinder oil specifically for use with engines running on VLSFO. It will be available in Singapore from June 1, 2019 and other main supply ports from July 1, 2019.
“Working with our customers as they switch to VLSFO allows us both to build valuable expertise,” said Melissa Williams, Global Sales & Marketing Manager for Marine Fuels.
“The partnership gives our customers’ crews and engineers important experience with the fuels and we, as the supplier, are able to develop our operational handling guidelines. This ensures that our customers have all the information they need to transition smoothly come implementation day.”
Alongside its Marine Fuels business, Shell Shipping & Maritime has carried out a successful trial of the new fuel on one of its own vessels, the Silver Carolyn, in Singapore.