Shell Marine is introducing its Marine Integrated Lubrication and Expert Solutions (MILES) program. This new initiative includes combining purchasing options, services and an extensive range of lubricant products in a multi-faceted strategy addressing customers’ most pressing operational concerns.
“It is vital that Shell Marine is responsive to the challenges in the maritime industry where complexity and cost pressure is the new normal,” says Jan Toschka, Shell Marine Executive Director. “The flood of new regulations, changing engine technology, new fuels, efficiency pressures and increasing digitalization means ship owners must adapt to thrive. It is only natural that they look to suppliers not only to help optimise their operating costs, but also to take away operational complexities where possible, allowing them to focus on their core business.
“We are helping our customers to reduce their operational costs by monitoring lubricant consumption and providing advice about future volume liftings and ports. This offer, in particular when combined with our technical services, helps customers not only to generate cost savings but also reduce complexity on their side,” he said.
To maximize scale and benefits of MILES, Shell Marine is working with external experts to develop digital solutions utilizing greater connectivity, artificial intelligence, machine learning and data science. This will allow Shell Marine to offer a wide range of new services, from building recommendations about optimal volume/port lifting as well as creating ways to reduce purchasing costs to the extent of managing the entire lubrication management for the vessel.
In addition to the new lubricant solutions, Shell Marine will be offering different payment solutions to help shipowners optimize their working capital and budgeting. “Flexi pay” or “pay as you consume” schemes from other industries have been considered.
Continuous product development is critical in meeting the industry’s technical challenges. Shell Alexia 140, a BN 140 cylinder oil that addresses issues related to corrosive wear in some highly-tuned two-stroke engines. It also supports blend on board mixing and blending such as MAN Diesel & Turbo’s automated cylinder oil mixing (ACOM), to find the optimal feed rate for customers’ engines. Shell Alexia 140 will be available in third quarter 2017 at selected ports. Deliveries of Shell Alexia 140 will be combined with Shell LubeMonitor service. Results obtained from Shell’s own testing and from services delivered to customers show the reductions in feed rate and savings that can be achieved by using Shell’s cylinder monitoring service.
Four-stroke engines are also continuously evolving and require oil in lower amounts that can perform well at higher temperature and pressures. Shell Marine’s portfolio of four-stroke engine oils Shell Argina and Shell Gadinia have been developed to give superior engine cleanliness and lacquer control.
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Source: Shell
