"I told you so" is such a nice feeling when almost everyone takes the opposing point of view and subsequent events prove you right. Here is the what happened recently.
A shipping company ordered bunker fuel. The test lab reported presence of styrene, alpha methyl styrene and DCPD at very high levels. This lab recommended that the fuel should not be used. The supplier disagreed and the buyer and the supplier agreed to subject this fuel to analysis at another well known lab for final resolution which should be accepted by both parties. This second lab also came up with very high values for styrene, DCPD, dihydro?DCPD and very high Indene as well. It was obvious that these were residues from Ethylene cracker from a petrochemical plant.

Infomarine On-Line Technical Library

File	Description	File size
ISO 8217 2010 The Denouement.pdf	ISO 8217:2010 ‐ The Denouement for bunkers	126 Kb

The new revision of MARPOL Annex VI includes a clause to prevent ships from being penalised for fuel quality non-compliance outside their control in
connection with Regulation 18.

There should be no penalty to ships that are unable to obtain the fuel necessary to comply with a given requirement under Regulation 14 (LSFO).
Ships must provide documentation proving that it could not get hold of compliant fuel, prior to entering an ECA, despite best efforts.

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File	Description	File size
Regulations- revision 01 June 2011.pdf	New Clause on Fuel Availability Regulations- revision 01 June 2011.pdf	3545 Kb

You have received two technical updates in the recent past, one about fuels containing several contaminants causing machinery damage to three vessels (2011/2/3 ) and the second technical update(2011/2/4) about a fuel supplied in Sevilla, Spain containing unacceptable high levels of contaminants. The question on your minds is likely to be "What protection do I have against supply of problem fuels?”

Infomarine On-Line Technical Library

File	Description	File size
TechUpd 2011_2_5 - WHAT PROTECTION DO YOU HAVE AGAINST SUPPLY OF PROBLEM FUELS.p	WHAT PROTECTION DO YOU HAVE AGAINST SUPPLY OF PROBLEM FUELS	100 Kb

From feedback recently received from one of our surveyors, we give an example of a change-over from high sulphur to low sulphur fuel operation that did not work as intended.

More stringent requirements for low sulphur fuel (LSF) operation came into force on 1 January 2010 (EU ports) and the requirements concerning operation in European and Californian waters will stepwise become stricter.

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File	Description	File size
LSFO-Change-over-proceadures_12-2010.pdf	Change-over to low sulphur fuel – a practical example to consider	449 Kb

Viswa Lab wishes to share our knowledge on this subject:
First of all, styrene in isolation does not cause problems, unless these levels are very high. Similarly, DCPD in isolation does not cause problems.

However, styrene and DCPD and Indene (which is being seen more, lately) together do seem to cause machinery problems.

Accepted by SAE and ASTM, the standard test method to measure diesel fuel lubricity is conducted on the High Frequency Reciprocating Rig (HFRR).
With HFRR, a ball is placed on a flat surface and rapidly vibrated back and forth with a stroke distance of one millimeter while 200 grams of weight is applied.

GL organized, with the support of MAN and Aalborg, a Workshop on the issue of Low Sulphur Fuels and the implementation of the EU Directive in force from January 1st, 2010, which requires the use of maximum 0.1% sulphur content fuel on ships at berth in EU.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS PERTAINING TO EU DIRECTIVE 2005/33/EC ON MARINE FUEL SULPHUR LIMIT, TO BE ENFORCED ON 1 JANUARY 2010

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File	Description	File size
DNV_EU_LOW-SULFURE_FRQUENTLY_ASK_QUESTIONS.pdf	FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS PERTAINING TO EU DIRECTIVE 2005/33/EC ON MARINE FUEL SULPHUR LIMIT, TO BE ENFORCED ON 1 JANUARY 2010	59 Kb

MARPOL Annex VI "Regulations for the Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships" stipulate that Heavy

Fuel Oil (HFO) combustion is not permitted during port stay and in specific areas at sea.

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File	Description	File size
AALBORG-BOILERS-Fuelchange.pdf	MARPOL Annex VI "Regulations for the Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships" stipulate that Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) combustion is not permitted during port stay and in specific areas at sea.	1218 Kb

Regulation on Fuel Sulfur and Other Operational Requirements for Ocean-Going Vessels within California Waters and 24 Nautical Miles of the California Baseline
The purpose of this Marine Notice is to advise owners and operators of ocean-going vessels of the recordkeeping requirements in subsection (e)(2), “Recordkeeping, Reporting, and Monitoring Requirements” in California’s regulation establishing fuel sulfur requirements for ocean-going vessels (“regulation”).

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File	Description	File size
California Code of Regulations, title 17, section 93118.2.pdf	FINAL REGULATION ORDER AIRBORNE TOXIC CONTROL MEASURE FOR FUEL SULFUR AND OTHER OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS	84 Kb
California Code of Regulations, title 17, section 93118.pdf	FINAL REGULATION ORDER AIRBORNE TOXIC CONTROL MEASURE FOR FUEL SULFUR AND OTHER OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS	84 Kb
California Code of Regulations, title 13, section 2299.1.pdf	FINAL REGULATION ORDER EMISSION LIMITS AND REQUIREMENTS FOR AUXILIARY DIESEL ENGINES AND DIESEL-ELECTRIC ENGINES	6 Kb
Caifornia-marinenote2009_4.pdf	Regulation on Fuel Sulfur and Other Operational Requirements for Ocean-Going. Vessels within California Waters and 24 Nautical Miles of the California Baseline	224 Kb