Shell Alexia S4 provides Royal Arctic Line with Operational Reliabilty under extreme conditions

Company Information

Company: Royal Arctic Line
Region: Antarctica
Application: Ice-class container vessel
Saving: Delivers operational reliability under extreme conditions
Key edge: Shell Alexia S4 and technical support

Royal Arctic Line was established in 1993, but is built on more than 200 years of Arctic maritime experience. Greenland's self-rule authority has awarded Royal Arctic Line the monopoly concession1 to sail regular scheduled routes to, from and between towns in Greenland and between Greenland and Reykjavik, Iceland, and Aalborg, Denmark, as well as several other overseas destinations.Its 6,365-t capacity, ice-class ILUMAX container vessel Mary Arctica is equipped with a MAN B&W 6S46MC-C engine, which generally operates with a 75–95% load.

Shell has been working closely with Royal Arctic Line using the unique conditions aboard the Mary Arctica to measure cylinder-oil performance. Since September 2011, the vessel has operated for more than 4,000 hours using Shell Alexia S4.

Once a year, the Mary Arctica delivers supplies to the Norwegian and Belgian Antarctic research station. During the voyage, the vessel uses high- and low- sulphur fuel oil, and distillate under very cold ambient conditions.

When the Mary Arctica became ice-bound while approaching the research station, the engine was operated at full ahead and full astern, and from 15 to 98% load over several days to free it from the ice. Such operations place extreme stress on the engine and cylinder oil, yet Shell Alexia S4 performed extremely well under these punishing conditions, with fewer deposits observed on the pistons when compared with the use of Shell Alexia 50.

Challenge

Shell wanted to test the performance of Shell Alexia S4 under very challenging conditions. Royal Arctic Line's Mary Arctica provided an opportunity when its engine load had to be varied widely to free it from ice. The vessel also uses high- and low- sulphur residual fuel oil,and low-sulphur distillate, and operates under very cold ambient conditions.

Solution

In 2011, the vessel switched to Shell Alexia S4 cylinder oil, which is based on a fundamental understanding of cylinder-oil stresses under tough operating conditions.

Outcome

No issues were experienced while operating under the extreme ice-bound conditions or with the change between fuel types. In fact, fewer pistons deposits were seen compared with pistons using Shell Alexia 50, which demonstrates Shell Alexia S4’s excellent performance.

Value

The use of Shell AlexiaS4 protects the engine even under very strenuous operating conditions to help provide Royal Arctic Line with operational reliability and promote peace of mind.

¹The concession follows several conditions about call-in frequencies, capacity and security of supply for all towns on both the east and west coasts.