Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Marine Machinery & Engine (MHI-MME) has completed main boiler retrofit work on 80 Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) carriers which is said to enable these vessels to run safely on low sulfur fuel.
International Maritime Organization (IMO) Maritime Environment Protection Committee decided on global sulfur cap for marine fuel to be enforced in 2020 at its 70th session in London in October 2016.
According to the new regulation, sulfur content in marine fuel shall be reduced from 3.5% to 0.5%.
In order to comply with the new regulation, oil companies develop their own brand fuels as Ultra Low Sulfur Heavy Fuel Oil (ULSHFO) which contain 0.5% of sulfur or below.
However, the oil property of ULSHFO is very variable depending on its brand or supplier with no international standard, and that will cause unstable combustion of the burner, according to MMI-MHE.
The Japanese company said that its technology of burner and control system developed for Low Sulfur Marine Gas Oil (LSMGO) for main boilers enables to burn the fuel in a wide range of viscosity.
The company has already applied such technologies to auxiliary boilers for all new building vessels.