From January 2013 all vessels above 400gt have been required to have a ship energy efficiency management plan (SEEMP) onboard. The SEEMP is intended to improve the energy efficiency of the specific vessel, and is regulated by IMO guidelines.
Included in the energy efficiency measures that are mentioned in the IMO guidelines [MEPC.213(63)] and on which shipowners and operators should focus, are “valve improvements” and “adjustment of cylinder oil consumption”. HJL says that it is obvious that by implementing solutions and optimisations that guarantee reductions in cylinder lube oil consumption, energy efficiency is increased, and this ought to be a focus of any energy efficiency management plan.
The SIP valve was introduced by HJL in 2001, and is currently installed in the two-stroke engines of over 770 vessels. SIP, which stands for swirl injection principle, uses high pressure to vaporise the cylinder lube oil, and in combination with the swirl from the scavenge air, the oil is distributed on a large area of the upper liner surface just before the piston passes. This principle is said to give a significantly better lubrication efficiency than standard non-return valves, and therefore much less lube oil is needed to provide satisfactory lubrication. In addition, says HJL, experience has shown that the liner and piston ring condition is improved.
Hans Jensen Lubricators says that it has a range of different products to inject and regulate cylinder lube oil, both mechanically and electronically. The oil feed can be regulated according to engine speed, MEP, bhp or a customer-specific algorithm, and in addition the regulation can be adjusted according to fuel sulphur content.
The company adds that combining the SIP valve with a regulator gives a system that will operate with particularly low cylinder oil consumption, and will make sure the engine is optimised according to operating conditions. A combination of SIP and load regulation will enable lower cylinder oil consumption and allow oil feed to be adjusted to suit the given vessel and operation, thus increasing efficiency according to the SEEMP.
The products can be easily retrofitted to any vessel, with the work carried out during normal port visits with no docking needed. Because daily oil consumption is already monitored in the log file, the results can be easily monitored. HJL says it has clients which have experienced up to 60% savings in cylinder oil costs by such an upgrade. A representative iof one such customer, Trireme Vessel Management, is quoted as saying: “Trireme Vessel Management confirms a reduction by 50% to 60% of consumption in lube oil due to the installation of the Hans Jensen Mechtronic SIP system on our ships”.