Swedish P&I Club issues Monthly Safety Scenario for April 2015
TheSwedish P&I Club published its Monthly Safety Scenario for April 2015 regarding engine failure due to fuel change .The Swedish Club publishes on a monthly basis a new “Monthly Safety Scenario” (MSS) to assist owners in their efforts of complying with the maritime regulations.
The vessel was approaching California in moderate weather conditions. The weather forecast predicted an increase to gale forces. The vessel was soon to enter the low sulphur zone and the engineers were running behind in preparing to switch over to low sulphur fuel.
They did however manage to switch over just before entering the low sulphur zone. Suddenly the main engine stopped, as apparently the fuel pumps had failed.
There can be difficulties when switching from one fuel to another due to low load operations and leaking pumps caused by low fuel viscosity. This is because distillate fuels can gas up at a too high temperatures causing vapour locking and fuel starvation.
Low viscosity fuels will flow through fine clearances previously sealed by higher viscosity fuel resulting in fuel leakage. Distillates do not require heating like HFO. If the distillate temperature is too high, the viscosity will be greatly reduced below the point at which the systems function correctly.
The engineers investigated the fuel filters and found them to be blocked. This was because of incompatible fuel mixing leading to precipitation of heavy sludge. The situation for the vessel deteriorated and the wind increased to gale forces and the vessel started to drift. The vessel started to heel back and forth heavily because of the increased wind speed.The engineers worked hard to get the main engine up and running but without success.
In California, as of July 2014, 93 loss of propulsion incidents occurred of which 15 were directly related to fuel switching to meet the states regulations on sulphur limits. This equates to 0.17% of all vessel movements. Based on the Californian statistics, there is likely to be an average of a loss of power incidence in the English Channel every three days.
There are around 60,000 vessels that move in and out of the entrance to the English Channel, the North Sea and English Channel ECA border annually. A loss of propulsion incidents occurring from fuel switching to just 0.17% of these vessels could translate to 102 incidents per year.
| Managers should ensure that not only are their systems suitably upgraded and maintained, but also that crew training is in place to facilitate the fuel changeover process, minimising the risk of engine cut out. Experience in California has proved that crew training has minimised the risks and number of incidents. |
Source: The Swedish P&I Club
