Big Win for Maersk Fluid Technology’s BOB System

In the second half of 2015, Maersk Fluid Technology introduced a new version of its cylinder oil ‘Blending-On-Board’ (BOB) system, targeting medium-sized 2-stroke propulsion engines with a cylinder bore between 420 and 680 mm.

Now the first volume order has been placed for retrofit of the SEA-Mate B1000 system onto 12 tankers delivered to Maersk Tankers between 2005 and 2008 – ten vessels equipped with Wärtsilä (WinGD) RTA and RT-Flex engines with a bore between 580 and 620 mm and two vessels with engines designed by MAN Diesel & Turbo.

The order has been placed after careful evaluation of the expected payback time, which was found to be less than 2 years when taking the proven fuel savings, system oil and cylinder oil cost reductions into account.

The ordered BOB systems are simple to retrofit onboard existing vessels and will be installed during 2016 without the need to interrupt vessels schedule. With the systems installed the vessels will be able to blend from 30-140 BN cylinder oil, utilizing the in-use system oil as a base-oil. The system is fully approved for the MAN Diesel & Turbo and Wärtsilä (WinGD) engines in question.

Tommy Thomassen, CTO Maersk Tankers commented “With the flexibility of the B1000 Blending-On-Board (BOB) system from Maersk Fluid Technology, we get the ability to match our cylinder oil lubrication to the fuel sulphur. The BOB system is expected to facilitate up to 40% reduction of current lube-oil consumption, cleaner main engine system oil and fuel savings of at least 0.5% for both MAN Diesel & Turbo and Wärtsilä (WinGD) 2-stroke engines. Investing in BOB allows Maersk Tankers to stay flexible and ready for future lubrication challenges”

The benefits are explained further by Sune Lilbaek, Head of Sales and Marketing at Maersk Fluid Technology “When switching from traditional lubrication oil to our future-proof blending system, vessels will be able to reduce lubricant supply to the lowest allowed consumption of lubricant as specified by the engine manufacturer. This is possible because cylinder lubricant from the BOB system always will be matching the sulphur content in the fuel. The BOB system also facilitates better engine performance through utilization of the in-use system oil as a base for the cylinder oil. This way, it will be possible to add fresh system oil to the main engine, improving overall cleanliness and viscosity of the system oil.

When significant volumes of fresh system oil is added to the main engine lubrication and hydraulic circuit, it is documented to result in less wear of critical mechanical & hydraulic components. This also makes it possible to reduce purifier sludge and facilitates proven fuel savings up to 1.5% as a result of more optimal system oil viscosity properties.”

In addition, three of the 12 vessels will be equipped with the SEA-Mate B4000 analyzer, making it possible for the vessels to closely monitor the iron levels in the cylinder oil scrape-down, facilitating further optimization of the lubrication system for the different engine types in the series of vessels.

All elements of the system have been verified by the 2-stroke engine designers who have issued official approvals or no-objection letters.