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Case study on Clara Maersk
Case
Fit-for-Purpose Lubrication
It was decided during the first half of 2015 to test the operational and
financial effectiveness of the SEA-Mate® Blending-on-Board (BOB)
system on smaller engines such as 8S50MC, and therefore the new
and smaller Blender B500Mk2 was installed on Clara Maersk. Prior
to this, the BOB had only been installed on the largest marine engines.
With the BOB unit installed, the vessel was able to reduce the feed-rate
by 25% in 1,5 years and the associated benefits of having a BOB unit
installed were quickly proven. As expected, the effectiveness of clean
system oil benefits from continuously refreshing the in-use system oil
was also achieved. Cleaning the crankcase and keeping the viscosity
of system oil close to the condition of new oil, reducing friction and
effectively reducing the fuel consumption. Furthermore, it was possible
to optimize the system oil centrifuge operation, reducing the energy
used for operating the centrifuge and minimizing the loss of system
oil through the centrifuge. The effectiveness of BOB on Clara Maersk
was well-proven and subsequently, more BOB installations on many
other small bore size engines were completed, resulting in similar
effectiveness.
VESSEL DATA
Vessel type: Container Vessel
Main engine: MAN B&W 8S50MC
Main engine power: 10,480 kW
BOB retrofit completion: June 2015
Cylinder lubrication system: Mechanical
Cylinder lubrication feed-rate (Q4 2017): 1,54 g/kWh
Cylinder lubrication minimum feed-rate: 1,10 g/kWh
REDUCED COST AND IMPROVED CONDITION
After the blender installation, Clara Maersk have managed to reduce
the feed-rate from 1,54 g/kWh to 1,10 g/kWh. A total cylinder oil
consumption reduction of 25%.
WITH THE BOB INSTALLED
With BOB installed, there will not be a need to adjust the
feed-rate corresponding to various operating conditions.
Instead, the BN value of the cylinder oil is adjusted, while
keeping the feed rate constant. The blended cylinder oil will
have the optimal neutralization and detergency capabilities
and it is possible to run cylinder lubrication at a fixed low feed
rate, regardless of the fuel Sulphur in use. By using a
recommended onboard scrape-down test kit, the crew can
easily monitor the condition of the cylinder units by performing
periodic drain oil analysis. This will secure the best cylinder
oil settings for the specific engine. In order to secure successful
implementation of Blending-on-Board, Maersk ensured a
back-to-back rotation of the Chief Engineers and priority was
given to proper training of the crew, leaving no shortfall while
implementing a different lubrication operation and strategy.
EASY OPERATIONS
The BOB system does not increase the workload but helps
the crew in the daily routine with the already existing tasks.
The installation of the blender has shown to be a real positive
experience for the vessel Clara Maersk. Both crew and engine
have experienced its benefits from the implementation and
overall the BOB system has been very successful.
YEARLY SAVINGS
The graph shows development in cylinder oil feed-rate, as well
as the reduction in total cylinder lubricant used and the actual
consumption of the BOB high-BN cylinder oil product. The
current state has resulted in the following savings.
SYSTEM OIL QUALITY AND LOWERED SYSTEM ABRASION
Due to the continuous refreshment of system oil in use, it has
been possible to maintain a good system oil quality onboard.
The refreshed oil also shows cleaner system oil with a visible
cleaner crankcase and oil sump. Clean and fresh system oil
will have a positive technical impact on TBO’s relating to for
example FIVA valves, piston cooling, bearings, and preheater
efficiency. Moreover, since the installation of BOB, Clara Maersk
has experienced significantly lowered engine abrasions,
enabling piston rings to run +30,000 hours without replacement.
The vessel have not replaced any cylinder liners, due to
constant low liner wear.
COST AND SUSTAINABLE BENEFITS
With the installment of the SEA-Mate® Blending-on-Board,
Clara Maersk has gained both cost-effective and sustainable
benefits through more efficient use of lubrication oils, reduced
oil and energy consumption, and less wear on system-parts.
With a SEA-Mate Blending-on-Board installed, the vessel
eliminated the worries and timing of changeover plans for the
cylinder oil, as the vessel can begin to blend the existing cylinder
oil to a lower BN when the fuel is changed. With a BOB installation,
the result is a cylinder oil fit for the specific operating conditions
for each vessel and a reduction of Clara Maersk cylinder oil
consumption by 25% on the currently used feedrate, resulting
in a significant cost reduction of 13,500 USD/year, entirely
based on cylinder oil reduction. Taking into account the reduced
system oil waste, lowering fuel consumption, and reduced
component wear, this sums up to significant annual savings
and offering a return-on-investment on the BOB system of
approximately one year.
These significant reductions are directly linked to more
responsible consumption on Clara Maersk. With the reduction
of 25% cylinder oil, calculating 36 m3/year (2015) to 27 m3/
year (2016), resulting in an annual reduction of 9 m3/year
consumed cylinder oil. Transferring this to reduced annual CO2
emitted from the cylinder oil alone on Clara Maersk it can be
calculated an annual saving of approximately 27t CO2
per year
in cylinder oil. Moreover, with the installment of BOB, Clara
Maersk is contributing to Maersk’s commitment to the UN
sustainable development goals 12 and 13, enabling a
more responsible consumption.
