Shell said it will be carrying out further trials in New Orleans, Rotterdam and Singapore. A successful trial has already been carried out in Singapore using the oil/chemical tanker Silver Carolyn.
Grahaeme Henderson, head of global shipping and maritime at Shell, said: “Alongside our marine fuels business, Shell Shipping & Maritime has carried out a successful trial of the new fuel on one of our own vessels, the Silver Carolyn, in Singapore. The experience we gained from this trial and others, helps us be sure that the solutions Shell provides are what our customers and shipowners want. Working together like this, across the business, is central to how we are preparing for implementation and how we are helping our customers to be prepared too.”
Read more: Singapore authority unveils list of IMO 2020 compliant fuel suppliers
From 1 January 2020, global ships will be required to burn marine fuels with a maximum sulphur content of 0.5% under IMO’s Marpol Annex VI regulation.
Shell said that all the trials so far 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.
Melissa Williams, global sales and marketing manager for Shell’s marine fuels, said: “Working with our customers as they switch to VLSFO allows us both to build valuable expertise.”
She added: “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.”
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