New lubricants to ensure smooth transition to alternative fuels

Ship operators must work alongside the companies they charge with maintaining engine condition in order to ensure a smooth transition to using alternative fuels. That is the challenge laid down by Lubrizol’s Technical Manager for Marine Engine Oils, Ian Bown, as the company explores how it must adapt lubricants to protect ship engines burning alternative fuels.
Shipping’s long-term environmental targets are propelling the industry’s quest for new, cleaner fuels. But while the big target – cutting greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50 percent compared with 2008 levels – is still 29 years away, time is short for the task at hand. Engine technologies for many of the candidate fuels have yet to reach even the pilot stage in commercial shipping, but the lifespan of vessels means that fuel choices will need to be made very soon for newbuilds that will likely still be trading by 2050. The long development cycle for cylinder oils is another challenge.
“It is well recognized within the industry that while changes come quite quickly in some areas, lubricant development is sometimes not as fast,” says Bown. “That’s because we have to understand the impact of these fuels when they’re in service.”