Lesson 2 On-Board Management of Fuel and Lubricating Oil AUXMACH 2

ON-BOARD MANAGEMENT OF FUEL AND LUBRICATING OIL

One of the most important tasks on a ship is to ensure that it does not run out of fuel. The fuel consumption
calculations are very carefully completed by the Chief Engineer who will then determine how much fuel is required
and at which port it will be taken on board. The procedure of taking on fuel and lubricating oil is called 'bunkering'.
This name originated with older ships that used to load coal into the coal bunker and the term 'taking on bunkers'
has stuck, but today it means taking on all types of fuel as well as lubricating oil. The term is also applied to water in
the unlikely event of a ship having to take on water instead of making their own.

The choice of the bunker port is important because it must fit in with the ship's operation and it must also be the
most cost-effective port that the vessel calls at. A quick search of the internet will reveal that the cost of all the
different grades of fuel will differ from port to port and if a port does not have a bunkering facility it might be cost-
effective to bring in the fuel by bunker barge from another port.

It is also very important to check that the vessel has received the correct amount and specification because the fuel
taken on board will have to last until the next bunkering opportunity. If the fuel is taken on board when it is not up
to specification, then the ship runs the risk of breaking down in the middle of the ocean.

The development of the MARPOL regulations and the increased willingness by flag state administrations to impose
severe penalties on any ship leaking oil into the water has brought the bunkering procedure into sharp focus.

The bunkers will usually come as bulk delivery from a road tanker or a barge. It will be pumped on board through a
pipe using the contractor's equipment. Before the operation all the ship's officers should be aware that bunkering is
due to take place and all the engineering staff should be aware of their role and responsibilities throughout the
process. It is important that the following points are covered by the Chief Engineer's instructions to the staff:

1. Ship's engineer to ensure that the hoses supplied by the contractor are free from any defects.
2. Ship's engineer to be present as the final flange from the contractor's hose is connected to the ship's
pipework — including the flange joint.
3. All holes in the final flange should have a suitably tightened nut and bolt.
4. All the deck scuppers should be blocked off and there is sufficient absorbent material available to soak up
any oil spill.
5. Save-alls under the pipework flanges should be intact.
6. Hoses have sufficient slack and are supported so that there is no weight on the flange.
7. Efficient communication needs to be set up between the bunker station and the barge or road tanker as
well as between the bunker station and the ship's engineering staff controlling internal oil pathways.

During the bunkering operation the fuel should be sampled so that the oil may be sent to a laboratory for analysis.
A lot of development work is being carried out to design suitable equipment so that fuel can be analyzed on board
instead of being sent to the laboratory, which takes time and before the results are received back on board the
bunkers may already be in use.

Samples should be kept on board for at least 12 months and the ship should have a system in place to keep track of
the retained samples.

Figure 10.1 shows just where these precautions will be found in relation to the bunkering process. Guidance should
also be made to MARPOL Annex.I — regulations for the prevention of pollution by oil, MEPC.1/Circ.508 Bunker

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Lesson 2 On-Board Management of Fuel and Lubricating Oil AUXMACH 2

↑Figure 10.1 Precautions to be taken when bunkering

Delivery Note and Fuel Oil Sampling, MARPOL Annex.VI — Guidelines for Sampling of Fuel Oil and ISO 8217 fuel
standard 2010.

The reason for such care of fuel on a modern ship is that it is easy to receive fuel that is not up to the specification
ordered. There is so much that can go wrong and if it does the ship could be placed in a potentially dangerous
position. More detail about the refining process and the production standards can be found in Chapter 1 and
information about mass flow meters for measuring bunkers can be found in Chapter 11. It is important when
bunkering heavy fuel oil that it is kept at a temperature suitable for pumping and storage. If the oil cools down wax
can form, which may clog up filters and affect the operation of pumps. Therefore, the steam plant should be ready
for service.

Careful records should be kept about which storage tanks are holding the bunkers loaded in which port. Also, it is
good practice not to mix bunkers from any one place. This means that if defective fuel is loaded there will be as little
cross-contamination as possible. Special care should be taken in cold climates to ensure that the correct temperature
is maintained. When in the storage tank the heat will help to separate out any water that has been delivered with
the fuel. However, if this is a double-bottom tank it will be difficult to remove the water at this stage as it cannot be
drained.

FUEL AND ITS ON -BOARD TREATMENT — GRAVITY SEPARATION

Fuel oil will be transferred from the 'in use' bunker tank to the settling tank where it is allowed to stand for a while
allowing the water, to move to the bottom of the tank where it can be drained off.

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Lesson 2 On-Board Management of Fuel and Lubricating Oil AUXMACH 2

↑Figure 10.2 Settling tank including fittings

On board the three processes used to clean fuel and lubricating oil are gravitation, filtration and centrifugal
purification. The use of gravity, where water and particles of dirt are allowed to separate out of the oil and fuels, is
carried out in the settling tanks. When the oil is allowed to stand undisturbed in the tank, elements of higher relative
density than the oil gravitate to the bottom of the tank where they are discharged periodically through a manually
operated sludge cock. The process of separation in a settling tank can be speeded up to a certain extent by heating
the tank contents. If heating of the contents is possible, steam-heating coils are generally used, but care must be
taken not to heat the oil to too high a temperature. Figure 10.2 shows a settling tank with the usual fittings provided.
SOLAS requires that marine fuels have a flashpoint of 60°C but the classification societies recommended a storage
temperature, in the bunker tanks, to be above 45°C, which preserves the quality of any blend. This means that an
ideal temperature for heavy oil in a bunker tank would be about 50–55°C. The next stage in on-board fuel
management is in the settling tank where there needs to be sufficient heating capacity to raise the heavy fuel oil

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Lesson 2 On-Board Management of Fuel and Lubricating Oil AUXMACH 2

temperature ready for the final preparation phase prior to use by the main engine. Figure 10.2 shows the
arrangement of a typical oil storage tank showing the internal and external fittings. In an examination these fittings
should be itemized, and a brief description of their function should be given as shown below.

Sludge valve or cock. Used for draining water and sludge from the bottom of the tank. It must be self-closing; if it
were not, and it was left unattended, a dangerous situation could arise whereby the tank content could be drained
into the oily bilge or sludge tank.

Dumping valve. This fitting can be used in the event of fire to dump the oil from an elevated settling tank to a double-
bottom tank, which could possibly be below the level of the fire.

Exhaust steam. From heating coils this would be led to a steam trap, which ensures maximum utilization of the heat
content in the steam, then to an observation tank where any defect in the pipe work can be diagnosed due to oil
crossing over into the steam-heating circuit.

Overflow pipe. This is an important feature of the tank that could stop it from being over pressurized. However, it
has caught engineers out in the past. If a tank is filled right up to its maximum with fuel that is cooler than it should
be, then when the fuel is raised in temperature it will expand. This could lead to the oil being forced up the overflow
pipe, or indeed the sounding pipe, and end up flowing over the deck and into the water.

Sounding pipe. This is a tube extending from a platform above the tank through the top of the tank to the bottom.
At the foot of the tube are two important features. The first is a hole so that the liquid in the tank can enter the pipe
and the level in the pipe and the tank can then be measured. The second feature is a flat metal plate placed at the
bottom of the pipe, which is called a striker plate and is there to take the force of the weight on the end of the
sounding tape hitting the bottom. The weighted cock on the top of the sounding pipe is important and should be
checked for correct operation by the watchkeeper during his/her tour of the engine room. The reason for the weight
is to ensure that the cock is closed following each use and because of this it can be awkward to used; therefore, staff
have sometimes been tempted to wedge it open in some way to make taking a sounding easier. The cock restricts
any liquid travelling up the sounding pipe from spilling out over the deck or into the engine room. In the event of a
rupture in the tank this could be a potential position for ingress of water.

Remote cables. Tanks containing fuel and oil will have high- and low-suction valves with remote cables fitted. In the
event of a fire in the engine room, the tanks can be isolated from a safe position. This is an essential feature
associated with settling and service tanks.

Manholes. These are provided to give staff access to the tank for cleaning and repair. To gain access the manholes
will have to be unbolted after ensuring that the tank in empty. However, it is vitally important that before any person
is allowed to enter the tank a strict procedure is followed to make sure that the tank is safe for human occupation.
An example of the procedure to follow for entry into enclosed spaces appears in the code of safe working for
merchant seamen that is produced by the I-JK administration. The procedure should also be clearly set out in the
ships safety management system (SMS). This point is so important that students should expect, and be prepared, to
answer questions every time in their examinations.

With the introduction of the need to use different grades of fuel it will be very important for the engineers to keep
track of where the different oils are stored. Ships may have Iow-sulphur marine diesel oil (LSMDO), intermediate
fuel oil (IFO) and heavy fuel oil (HFO). These oils should not be mixed in the storage tanks and will only come into
contact with each other for short periods during a changeover phase from one grade to another. Don't forget also
that there may be the bunkers from different ports to allow for as well.

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Lesson 2 On-Board Management of Fuel and Lubricating Oil AUXMACH 2

FILTRATION

The process of filtration of lubrication and fuel oils removes unwanted particles of material such as cotton threads,
paint chippings, small pieces of metal, etc., which could cause damage to pumps and engines, if left to circulate with
the oil. Filtration does not separate much water from the oil; however, by pumping heated lubricating oil into a
vacuum chamber, vaporization of water can be achieved. Also, water-repellent and water-coalescing filter cartridges
can be used, which will cause some separation of water from oil.

Many different types of filters are manufactured, the simplest being the wire mesh type that are fitted in pairs in
the lubricating oil piping system. One filter is used at a time and this arrangement enables the operator to clean the
filter not in use without shutting down the oil system. Others of a more complex nature can be cleaned while in
operation and may be fitted singly in the oil piping system or again in pairs.

Wire gauze-type filters are made with coarse or fine mesh depending upon the positioning of the filter unit in the oil
system. An example of this are the hot and cold oil filters fitted in oil burning and pumping installations: the coarse-
mesh suction filters are used for cold oil and the fine-mesh discharge filters are used for the heated oil. The wire
mesh-type filter, however, is rarely made to filter out particles below 125 μm in size. If finer filtration is required,
other types of filter unit are used: one such being the well-known Auto-Klean strainer.

AUTO-KLEAN STRAINER
See Figure 10.3. This type of filter is an improvement on the wire gauze strainer. It can be cleaned while in operation.
It can filter out particles down to 25 μm in size. The dirty oil passes between a series of thin metal discs mounted
upon a square central spindle. Between the discs are thin, metal, star-shaped spacing washers of slightly smaller
overall diameter than the discs. Cleaning blades, fitted to a square stationary spindle and the same thickness as the
washers, are between each pair of discs. As the oil passes between the discs, solid matter of sizes larger than the
space between the discs remains upon the periphery of the disc stack.

The filter is cleaned by rotating the central spindle, which rotates the disc stack and the stationary cleaning blades
scrape off the filtered solids, which then settle to the bottom of the filter unit. Periodically the flow of oil through
the filter unit is interrupted and the sludge in the bottom well is cleaned out. To facilitate the cleaning operation the
filters are generally fitted in pairs.

Pressure gauges are fitted before and after the filter unit to indicate the condition of the filter. The pressure
difference (DP) across the filter is low when the filter is clean, and the pressure difference becomes progressively
higher as the filters start to become clogged up. The DP should not be allowed to increase too high as the flow of oil
could then be restricted.

Figure 10.3 illustrates the internal arrangement of an Auto-Klean filter unit, which can be arranged for automatic or
manual operation. The standard unit was capable of filtering out particles down to 200 μm in size, this type can also
be made to filter particles of under 75 μm, but the mechanical strength of the cleaning blades will be low. The current
Auto-Klean strainer has the modified disc stack and cleaning blade arrangement shown in Figure 10.4. With this
modified disc stack, particles down to 25 μm in size can be filtered out without impairing the mechanical strength of
the cleaning blades. The 'fluxflo' self-cleaning wire gauze filter can be used to filter out particles of between 10 p.p.m.
and 15 p.p.m.

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Lesson 2 On-Board Management of Fuel and Lubricating Oil AUXMACH 2

↑Figure 10.4 Auto-Klean strainer

↑Figure 10.3 Modified disc stack (Auto-Klean)

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Lesson 2 On-Board Management of Fuel and Lubricating Oil AUXMACH 2

↑Figure 10.5 Streamline lubricating oil filter

STREAMLINED LUBRICATING OIL FILTER

The streamlined filter consists of a two-compartment pressure vessel containing a number of cylindrical filter
cartridges. Each section rod is held in longitudinal compression. The discs can be made from a wide variety of
materials, for lubricating oil special paper discs are generally used. The oil can flow from the dirty to the clean side
of the filter via the small spaces between the compressed discs then up the spaces formed by the hole in the disc
and the rod. In this way, the dirt is left behind on the periphery of the disc stack and it is claimed that particles of
the order of 1 μm can be filtered out, which means that this type of filter maintains the oil in a very good condition
without the need for other treatment plants.

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Lesson 2 On-Board Management of Fuel and Lubricating Oil AUXMACH 2

For cleaning, compressed air is generally used. Closing A and B and opening D and C results in reversal of flow (see
Figure 10.5).

OIL MIST ELIMINATORS

The Vokes oil mist eliminators can be used to remove the oil mist from air flows that have been contaminated with
oil from areas such as lubrication oil tanks or engine crankcases and car decks on ro-ro ships.

FILTER COALESCERS
These have been designed to replace the centrifugal method of particulate and water removal from fuel and
lubricating oils.

The unit consists of some form of pre-filter for particulate removal followed by a compressed, inorganic fiber-
coalescing unit in which water is collected into larger globules.

Coalescing action is relatively complex but briefly, the molecular attraction between the water droplets and the
inorganic fibers is greater than that between the oil and the fibers. As the number of droplets increases they join
together to form a layer of water.

When the water globules are large enough they will drop to the bottom and out of the coalescing unit.

Downstream of the coalescing cartridges are PTFE-coated, stainless-steel, water-repelling screens that act as a final
water-stripping stage. Water gravitates from them and from the outlet of the coalescer cartridges into the well of
the strainer body from where it is periodically removed.

In modular form these units would have pumps, motors, alarms, indicators, water probes with automatic water
dumping, heaters to lower the viscosity of the oil, together with the filtration system described above.

LUBRICATING OIL FILTER -COALESCER

Lubricating oil in circulation round a closed system, for example turbine, generators, stern tubes, etc. will absorb
moisture from the atmosphere that will reduce the lubricating properties of the oil. Figure 10.6 shows a filter-
coalescer that will remove solid particles of 3 pm and above and also up to 99% of the water present in the oil.

Lubricating oil is pumped through the water coalescer filter cartridges, which remove solids and coalesce (i.e. gather
into larger droplets) the free water droplets held in suspension in the oil. Most of the water then gravitates to the
bottom of the body and the oil with the remaining water droplets passes to the water-repelling screens, which
permit passage of oil only. Water droplets that collect on the screens eventually settle at the bottom of the body.

To clean the unit, it must first be drained and then the filter cartridges are renewed; the water-repelling screens
need not be touched.

A heater would be incorporated in the supply line, which would heat the lubricating oil, thus assisting separation.

CENTRIFUGAL FILTER
Smaller diesel engines are increasingly being fitted with a filter that utilizes centrifugal force to remove some of the
carbon from the oil thus prolonging the time between overhauls (TBO). The oil is introduced into the unit under the
lubricating oil system pressure. The oil is directed out of small holes in the bottom of a rotating drum. Inside the

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Lesson 2 On-Board Management of Fuel and Lubricating Oil AUXMACH 2

↑Figure 10.6 Lubricating oil filter-coalescer

cylinder part of the drum is placed a card and as the bulk of the oil is introduced into the body of the unit the heavy
material accumulates on the card. After a period of time the card will need to be changed and this will take out the
acclimated carbon as well.

OIL MODULE (FUEL OR LUBRICATING OIL)

An automatic oil-cleaning module comprising duplicated filter assembly, pumps and controls mounted on a
water/sludge tank that serves as a base is shown diagrammatically in Figure 10.7.

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Lesson 2 On-Board Management of Fuel and Lubricating Oil AUXMACH 2

↑Figure 10.7 Automatic oil filter module

During normal operation, dirty oil from the oil settling tank would be pumped through the filter to the service tank.
Impurities collect on the outer surfaces of the filter, and this results in an increase in pressure differences across the
filter. When this pressure difference reaches the pre-set limit of about 0.4 bar a signal from the differential pressure
switch to the controller starts the cleaning procedure. The controller sends signals to valves A and B, which change
over and open respectively so that the back-flush cleaning of the dirty filter as shown in Figure 10.7 takes place for
about 60 seconds. At the end of the cleaning period, valve B closes, and the system is back to normal operation.

If water enters the filter body its presence is detected by a water-detection probe. A signal from the probe causes
valves B or C to open, depending upon which filter is in use, and the water is discharged into the sludge tank. When
the water is completely discharged the valve automatically closes.

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Lesson 2 On-Board Management of Fuel and Lubricating Oil AUXMACH 2

↑Figure 10.8 Differential pressure switch

Sludge and water in the base tank are automatically located and discharged to a sludge storage tank. The relatively
clean oil from the top of the base tank overflows into the settling tank for recycling.

A differential pressure device that could be used in the module is shown in Figure 10.8. Increasing the spring force
increases the pressure differential setting at which the plunger will operate a switch for the timed cleaning sequence.
The synthetic rubber diaphragms at each end would resist attack from the oil.

The candle-type back-flushing filter is a popular choice for designers of modern machinery plants. The Boll & Kirch
system can have between 1 and 16 candles dividing the filtration process automatically. The candles work
continuously but are arranged so that one filter chamber can regenerate while the others are working.

References:

Russell, P. A., Jackson, L., & Morton, T. D. (2018). Reeds Vol 8 General Engineering Knowledge for Marine Engineers.
Bloomsbury Publishing.

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