Motorship

32 nd Propulsion & Emissions Conference Hamburg

28 th & 29 th April 2010 

## Reducing marine oil pollution by raising standards in

marine lubricants

Jonathan Pearce Product Manager

Castrol MarineMotorship

32 nd Propulsion & Emissions Conference Hamburg

28 th & 29 th April 2010 

## Preserving marine waters

The world’s oceans cover more than 70% of its surface. At any one time 80% of the total shipping fleet is within 400 km of the shore. 96% of surface waters have been damaged by human activity, but the shorelines are amongst the most vulnerable areas with a large propor tion of the aquatic and avian species

concentrated around coasts and estuaries. Partially enclosed areas like the North Sea, with shallow water, restrict ed water exchange, tidal mudflats are particularly vulnerable – and have the highest human populations and hence shipping concentrations around them.



## Marine lubricant pollution

Castrol Marine, which is part of the BP Group, is one of the world’s leading suppliers of lubricants. There is gr owing awareness that lubricants used by the shipping industry are leaking or being discharged into the sea.Motorship

32 nd Propulsion & Emissions Conference Hamburg

28 th & 29 th April 2010 Each year, as much as 61,000 tonnes of lubricants are discharged into the world’s port and harbour areas. To put this into context, this is one and a half times the amount of oil spil led from the Exxon Valdez. Increasing focus is being applied to discharges (both accidental and deliberate) from the o ffshore and shipping industries into the marine environment. The highest profile is giv en to emissions and greenhouse gases which, together with large oil spillages are brought to the public’s eye by the media. The very large number of smaller scale spills and leaks which combine to make up the majority of the hydrocarbon discharge into the sea are largely unnoticed and unreported, however. Since international regulators including the IMO have widely stated the goal of 'zero pollution' from ships, it is worth considering the extent of operational oil pollution from shipping. Shipping causes a wide range of effects on the marine

environment. Well-known disasters with t ankers like Erika (1999) and Prestige (2001) come directly to mind. The env ironmental impacts of classical oil pollution are well known with large spil ls of heavy crude oil smothering sea birds and marine life, causing physical damage to marine habitats and toxic and bioaccumulative effects throughout the food chain. These accidents only form the tip of the shippi ng pollution iceberg. Most of the harmful emissions come from the daily release of various substances. Intentional and unintentional discharges of oil, c hemical cargo residues, garbage and cleaning agents, anti-f ouling paint, exhaust and other air emissions and nonindigenous species from ballast water have an ongoing adverse impact on life

in the world’s seas. Marine lubricant spills and releases ar e much more frequent but smaller scale and are less obvious as a result. Many releases or operational discharges are

not at all evident without close investigation. The issue has been raised by various studies, most notably the 2007 GESAMP report on Estimates of Oil Ente ring the Marine Environment From Sea Based Activities, which found that 457 million litres of o il enter the oceans a year from regular shipping activi ties, and the EMSA CleanSeaNet project, which found 4,027 oil slicks in the Eur opean waters resulting from regular operational discharges. Both studies i dentified that this pollution was not restricted to spillage and leakage fr om cargoes and observed that the operational consumption of l ubricants was a contribution to this total pollution.

Estimates have varied on lubricant loss: basic calculations presented at

MEPC58 showed 80 million litres of oil-based lubricants ar e lost annually from stern tubes alone. The EU LLINCWA study reported that 15% of all lubricants end up in the water (p34). The majority of shipping activities take place around our coasts, in or near ports, with the result that lubricant losses can be

concentrated in these areas. Across the world’s seas, each year there are lubricant discharges of as much as 224,000 tons of lubricant – with profound effects on water quality and the marine ecosystem.Motorship

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## Lubricant share of marine oil inputs

The amount of oil which enters the sea around ports and harbours from these

sources is not clear. Castrol Marine has enlisted the assistance of Dr Dagmar

Etkin of Environmental Research Consul ting, Inc. to establish, based upon the best knowledge available, le vels of lubricant loss into the marine environment. Although the focus of the press is a lways on the big spillages, these make up a small proportion of the total amount of oil going into the sea. The very large number of small spills and releases wh ich arise from day-to-day shipping operations make up more than half of the total amount of oil which pollutes the

sea. This work is not yet completed but these initial findings show that the ultimate fate of significant amounts of oil is currently unknown. The Etkin report provides estimates of lubricant discharge, leakage and spills in the world's ports from shipping activities, but excludes land-based

contributions to these. T he principal findings are: In 1.7 million visits by vessels to t he world's ports, ther e are 924,000 litres of lubricating oil going into the sea from recorded spills. Oil pollution from other

lubricant loss from other ar eas of vessels (including hydraulics, gear oils and greases) amounts to 32.3m litres of oil per year. Oil consumption from ster n tubes in normal operation is not monitored and the majority of oil consumed is released past seals into the sea. This has been

determined to be somewhere between 4.6 and 28.6 m litres per year.Motorship

32 nd Propulsion & Emissions Conference Hamburg

28 th & 29 th April 2010 Total lubricant loss from operational di scharges is estimated at between 38m and 62m litres – approximately one and a half times the size of the Exxon Valdez oil spill.



## Sources of lubricant pollution

Spills and releases come from a number of different sources on a vessel and it is worthwhile considering the two separately. The diagram shows a typical vessel with its major systems identifi ed. Focus in the past has always been upon the highly visible spills which take pl ace, with hydraulic fluids being the primary area of concern. This is not a surprise as these systems operate at high pressures and high flow rates. They incorporate elastomer seals and flexible hoses which are subject to w ear and abrasion, and also to fatigue with continual pressure fluctuations. W hen a hose burst occurs there is a significant amount of oil released ont o the deck and then onto the sea, where its presence is very obvious. Similarl y leaks from smaller items of deck equipment such as winches and windlasses are very evident. The gearboxes on this equipment are not gener ally pressurised, but leaking seals on shafts result in gear oil leakage onto the de ck and again it makes its way over the side. These occasional spills or leaks are easily evident because they result in an oil sheen on the water surface – in port, at least. There are a number of systems situated bel ow the waterline which require to

be lubricated also. The main ones to c onsider are the st ern tube bearing, thruster gearboxes and horizontal stab ilisers. All of these have pressurised lubricating oil systems where the pressure is maintained at a higher pressure than the surrounding sea. The reason for this is to ensure that no significant amount of water enters the oil system , where it would compromise the reliability of the unit. The corollary is t hat any leakage which does take place is

from the unit outwards into the sea. When the elastomer seals on propeller shafts or thruster bearings are in good condition this is a small (but continuous) amount of leakage, but any seal wear or damage increases the

amount. The lubricant is released well below the waterline into an area of turbulence (the propellor) which means that it is immediately dispersed and no giveaway sheen occurs on the water surface.Motorship

32 nd Propulsion & Emissions Conference Hamburg

28 th & 29 th April 2010 Stern tube leakage varies by vessel type, but has been conservatively estimated to be 2.6 litres per day based on empirical data on lubricant consumption. This ranges from 20 litres a day with barge carriers to 2 litres for smaller vessel types. Average per-port visit input s from deck-based machinery are estimated at an average 1.2 litres per vesse l. Average per-port visit inputs from in-water machinery sources are estimated to be about 8.6 litres per vessel per port visit. The highest rates of input coming from ro-ro cargo, ro-ro passenger/cargo and general cargo ships. By using lubricants with increased biodegradability, the costs of clean- up could be reduced to between US$ 30- 32 million annually.



## What are the drivers for green behaviour?

Shipping has a integral role in tr ansporting people and goods all over the world (90% of manufactured goods are shipped by sea at some point in their distribution). In terms of emissions per tonne per kilome ter, marine shipping is one of the most environmentally respons ible methods of transporting goods. However, because of the scale of the indus try, its overall impact is substantial. There is far greater awar eness of environmental issues today in the general public. Thus customers and regulators demand higher standards. And this means technologies are being develope d to meet a growing demand for sustainable shipping. Most of thes e revolve around emissions and ballast water issues, with the oil discharge co mponent still being the primary focus

from bodies such as MARPOL. In Europe, the Classification Societ ies such as Lloyds and DNV are introducing environmental standards, and ot her bodies like the Clean Shipping Index have come into existence, which offer a voluntary code of practice and accredition to a voluntary environmental standard. Only in the USA is there an admission that regular releases of oil take place in normal operations. Recent updates to the Clean Water Act in the US require all ship-source discharges – including lubricants - to be monito red and reported on a regular basis:

EPA Vessel Permit Rule: 2.2.9 Controllable Pitch Propeller and Thruster Hydraulic Fluid and other Oil to S ea Interfaces including Lubrication discharges from Paddle Wheel Propulsion, Stern Tubes, Thruster Bearings, Stabilizers, Rudder Bearings, Azimuth Th rusters, Propulsion Pod Lubrication,Motorship

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28 th & 29 th April 2010 and Wire Rope and Mechanical Equipm ent Subject to Immersion. Owner/operators should use an environmentally prefer able lubricant, including vegetable oil, synthetic ester, or pol yalkylene glycol as a base for these applications when feasible. Use of an environmentally pr eferable lubricant does not authorize the discharge of any lubricant in a quantity that may be

harmful

In Europe the focus on marine lubric ants environmental effects is being raised. The European Ecolabel for l ubricants scheme is under review, to extend its jurisdiction to lubricants in marine applications.



## How do we measure environmental performance?

Marine shipping does not currently need to comply with a great deal of legislation of the substances used on boar d. The offshore oil and gas industry, however, is very highly regulated, particula rly in the North Sea. A great deal of attention is given to the chemical s used on and discharged from an offshore installation used either for explorati on drilling or for long term production. Some of these, such as well chemical s, are deliberately discharged in their

normal use. Others are assessed as the ri sk of discharge or spill is considered to be high because of the equipment in which they are used. The standards for environmental compliance which are defined within the OSPAR HMCS regulations which apply to the North Sea are being adopted by most other oil and gas regulators around the world as t hey are considered to be the most appropriate to measure the overall im pact of a substance – not just its persistence. Individual components withi n the formulation are tested to determine their toxicity, with testing on four different species at different trophic levels in the marine food chai n, plus bioaccumulation potential and biodegradation tendency to determine their persistence. These results are taken together with the likelihood and sca le of a potential release to fully document the impact upon the environment around the area of operations. Toxicity of the lubricant and its co mponents (the performance additives within it, particularly) is likely to be a more significant i ssue for lubricants which are discharged below the waterline rather than those which are spilled onto the

water surface. The lubricant will be em ulsified and dispersed within the water column and will be more readily availabl e to organisms within it as a result. Because of this consideration, t he OSPAR assessment criteria are the standard of environmental performance whic h Castrol is working towards for lubricants supplied to both the offshor e and marine markets. Although theseMotorship

32 nd Propulsion & Emissions Conference Hamburg

28 th & 29 th April 2010 regulations do not cover the shipping indus try, they are considered the most appropriate standards to m easure the impact of re leased chemicals.



## Environmentally responsible lubricants

Apart from the frequency and volume of pollution arising fr om the use of lubricants on board ships, the compositi on of the pollutants is very different from the large crude oil sp ills which are generally c onsidered. Lubricants are manufactured from highly refined base oils with functional additives present in order to give the required performanc e properties to su it the intended application. These may enhance the oxidatio n stability of the oil, increasing its service life; they may improve protec tion against corrosion, improve the load carrying properties or prevent the oil foaming in servic e. Other dispersants or detergents may be present in order to suspend contaminant s, whilst other

additives can be used to cause the o il to emulsify or separate water, depending upon its usage. The level of additives pres ent can vary between less than 1% in basic lubricants up to 30% in some complex formulations. Because of the focus on spills, and the lar ger ones at that, the effects of these

additives in the marine environment ar e not normally assessed. Even when a user wants to be “environmentally friendly” , he is most likely to look to source a “biodegradable oil”, which may well be formulated expressly to biodegrade but with no thought given to the toxic e ffects of additives upon marine species. Lubricant additives are often strongl y surface-active and stable organic compounds, which means that they have a strong potential to be toxic and to bioaccumulate. Because it is possible fo r additives in oils which are dispersed in the sea to migrate into the water phase, the toxicity of individual additives

needs to be considered as well as the resu lts of the formulation as a whole, in

order to determine what the effect will be of discharge into the marine

environment. It is worth mentioning the special case of stern tube lubrication as this is probably the largest volume of oil enter ing the sea. Stern tube lubricants are simple products formulated from highly refined base oil plus a proportion of a fatty oil to make the lubricant emulsify and to improve lubricant film strength when water is present. It is common pr actice, however, to utilise the main engine oil as the stern t ube lubricant in order to minimise the number of lubricants held on board. The engine oils are the correct viscosity and their formulation means that they will also emulsify water in the same way.Motorship

32 nd Propulsion & Emissions Conference Hamburg

28 th & 29 th April 2010 However the additives can be up to 30% of the formulation and are strongly

alkaline in order to neutralise the ac ids formed during the process of fuel

combustion. Because the lubricant is supplied for the vessel’s main engines,

the amount which is used in stern t ubes and released to the sea is not

recorded.



## Castrol Bio Range.

We decided to develop a new lubricant range based on the fact that lubricants are chemicals that are going to end up in t he sea. This is the first time this approach has been taken to marine lubricants. And we are proud to offer our customers the leading technology in t he industry. We have done this without compromising on our commitment to high performance products for our

customers.

If we accept a shorter service life than would be given by a conventional oil, we may reduce the impact of a spill age but have increased the amount of oil consumed along with its attendant pack aging, shipping, storage and disposal

costs – all at a cost to the envir onment we are trying to protect.

We have found the perfect balance so t hat the new range meets all major national and equipment manufacturer’s st andards. Our new products are also compatible with existing components and standard oils. This means retrofitting is simple and straightforward with no risks during change-over.

Castrol has taken the lead in providing a solution to the marine industries in minimising sea pollution through launc hing the world's first comprehensive range of more environmentally responsib le lubricants. The performance of

these new fluids as lubricants is in no way compromised by their improved

environmental characteristics. This w ould be totally unacceptable to the end user as it would at best give reduced equipment availability through increased maintenance requirements and at worst could compromise safety or even affect the overall environmental impact of operations – the very thing we are seeking to improve. These products gi ve a viable alternative to companies that want to cut their impact on the world's marine environment.

The Castrol range of environmentally responsible lubricants has been

formulated to have a reduced envir onmental impact when compared to conventional lubricants – giving demonstrable benefits in the following key environmental performance criteria:

Superior biodegradation. Significantly reduced bioaccumulation (u sing OSPAR criteria for assessing bioaccumulation potential) and toxicity. Enhanced renewability.Motorship

32 nd Propulsion & Emissions Conference Hamburg

28 th & 29 th April 2010 The Castrol Bio Range range of environm entally responsible lubricants is comprised of:

Castrol BioStat – Stern tube and thruster lubricant. Specifically developed for stern tubes. Is readily emulsifiable, allowing 20 % water absorption without compromising lubricating performance. Provides better protection of beari ngs and gear components (when compared to conventional mineral oils) to help avoid unscheduled inspections and repairs.

Castrol BioBar – Hydraulic fluids. Extended life (up to 50%) prov en in long field experience. High viscosity index and low pour point: Allows start up at low temperatures. Provides thicker lubricating film and therefore enhanced component protection at high temperatures. Gives excellent wear and corrosion prot ection, providing long term machinery protection.

Castrol BioTrans – Gear lubricants. Long term machinery protection (up to 25% life extension of gear teeth). Oil life extended up to 100% when com pared with conventional mineral oils. High viscosity index and low pour point: Allows start up at low temperatures. Provides thicker lubricating film and therefore enhanced component protection at high temperatures. Gives additional anti-wear protection.

Castrol BioTac EP2 – Grease. Water spray-off resistanc e reduces frequency of application (and extends wire rope life). Good pumpability at low tem peratures (operating temp erature range from -

35 o C to 120 o C) facilitates use of pre ssurised lubrication equipment. High load carrying capacity and anti-corrosi on properties protecting equipment and adding value.



## Conclusion

Marine contractors of all types are oper ating in a global marketplace and have identified that good envir onmental performance and demonstration of their Corporate Social Responsibility is a key to successfully marketing their services. Many have accepted that they need to go beyond the minimum standards required by legislat ion, but there is as yet a great deal of lubricantMotorship

32 nd Propulsion & Emissions Conference Hamburg

28 th & 29 th April 2010 egress into the coastal environment whic h is not quantified, with no measure of the environmental impact of these ma rine operations currently in place.

The replacement of conventional mineral oils with environment ally responsible lubricants in equipment where there is a risk of accidental spillage or leakage, and consequent environmental damage, c ould eventually become mandatory. The harsh reality is that environmental legislation can only get tougher but ships will still continue to leak oil. Use of environmentally responsible lubricants can help counter this dilemma. Un til legislation is in place, there is likely to be slow adoption of environmentally responsib le lubricants unless the vessel operator has a particularly high pub lic profile – cruise ship operators and ferry companies, for example. Other encouragements to use these products could be put in place such as reduced port fees for ships adopting higher environmental standards. The techno logy to give a major improvement in environmental performance is availa ble now, for those shipping operators who want to make a difference now - instead of waiting until irreversible damage is proven in the marine environment and legislation is introduced to force their adoption.