Shell Marine has unveiled next generation Shell Argina and Shell Gadinia trunk piston oils for the medium-speed engine market, in order to help operators to meet compliance with environmental regulations.
The company suggests that demand for distillates and low-sulphur heavy fuel oil will only increase as shipping approaches a global fuel sulphur content cap of 0.5%, imposed by IMO from 2020. Already, dual-fuel engines are taking an increasing share of the medium speed market.
Newer generation engines are designed for better fuel economy and lower operating costs, achieved by higher brake mean effective pressure and higher operating temperatures.
“The new Shell Argina and Shell Gadinia oils feature excellent BN retention and viscosity control to address the faster oxidation that leads to deposit formation or lubricant contamination, without resorting to unnecessary oil sweetening”, explains Marcus Schaerer, Shell Marine Global Marketing Manager.
The Shell Gadinia S3 is a new addition to the existing standard and anti-lacquer Gadinia variants, and has been developed to control oil consumption in modern engines burning distillate fuels. It has a set of non-engine approvals for a wide range of non-engine shipboard applications, to provide a single long-term lubricant solution for smaller vessels working in the most severe operating conditions.
Exhaustive in-engine trials at Shell’s Marine and Power Innovation Centre in Hamburg confirm Shell Argina and Shell Gadinia as oils that avoid sludge formation, improve piston and crankcase cleanliness, and thus block deposit formation.
“Compared with a high-performing industry reference oil, the new Shell Argina S5 shows a 12.6% improvement in BN retention and a 15-20% improvement in piston undercrown deposit thickness, for example,” says Schaerer. “For operators, this can translate into lower operating costs via longer oil life, less sweetening and reduced maintenance.”
