The Swedish P&I Club advises on how to face the technical challenges of switching over from high to low-sulphur fuel when approaching a SECA. Peter Stenberg, Senior Technical Manager, Team Gothenburg, explains that to meet the requirements, a ship should already be running entirely on low sulphur fuel at the point when it enters a SECA – and the process of switching over can take at least 12 hours.
During 2015, The Swedish Club saw an increased number of cases where the fuel system was damaged. Mr. Stenberg says that by early 2015, there were already a number of welldocumented cases of ships changing over to low-sulphur fuel too quickly and without the proper processes, leading to extreme wear of the fuel pumps, for example, and consequent problems starting the engines.
Some were even forced to switch back to heavy fuel oil (HFO) in order to get the engines started, and then break the SECA rules in order to get the ship safely into port. Such a move must be reported to the Port State Control authorities, and big fines are the result – quite apart from the costs of the repairing the damage.
“From our point of view, we would only get involved if there was a major breakdown; so if we were to see ten of these instances, there must be hundreds that we are not aware of,” says Peter.
“The US Coast Guard has sent out advice about this – it has seen an increased number of vessels that have lost power since California SECA rules were imposed in 2014. And yet, I think not all shipowners have taken this too seriously. The awareness just isn’t out there.”
Mr Stenberg highlights that when a fuel switch over is being planned, individual calculations must be carried out for each ship, depending on the system and how much fuel is consumed.
He believes that switch over problems could largely disappear in a couple of years, as the issues become more clearly understood. However, training is vital, he says, particularly because more SECAs are being set up in regions around the world. “Ships are likely to be switching fuels even more frequently.
Please click below to read Triton No 1, 2016 issued by The Swedish P&I Club
Source: Swedish P&I Club
