Shell Offers Complete Lubricant Lineup for ECA-bound Vessels

Today, Shell Marine Products (SMP) introduced Shell Alexia S3, its solution for large vessels with two-stroke engines entering into waters where the revised emission control area (ECA) regulations will come into force on January 1, 2015. Shell Alexia S3 will be available to customers from December 2014 in major ports across SMP’s network of more than 500 ports in more than 40 countries.

SMP now offers a complete suite of lubricants for all types of engines. Shell Alexia S3 is the latest in SMP's Shell Alexia line of two-stroke engine oils, and is formulated for use with low sulphur and distillate fuels up to 0.5% sulphur. SMP also offers Shell Gadinia for medium-speed four-stroke engines and Shell Mysella, used in vessels with gas powered engines like Shell’s chartered barge Greenstream, the world’s first 100-percent LNG-powered barge which carries goods along Europe’s River Rhine.

"We are dedicated to providing our customers with the right solution, at the right place, at the right time," said Surinderdeep Singh, General Manager of Shell Marine Products. “The introduction of Shell Alexia S3 completes our portfolio, ensuring all our customers will have the right lubricant suitable for their shipping needs.”

The global maritime industry will see more stringent sulphur oxide (SOX) restrictions in ECA areas, such as the Baltic Sea, the North Sea, North America and the United States Caribbean Sea in the coming years. From January 1, 2015, ships entering these areas will have to use fuels with 0.1% sulphur content, such as marine gas oil or liquefied natural gas (LNG).

There have also been discussions among regulators of further expansion of ECAs into the entire Atlantic seaboard of Europe, the Mediterranean Sea, coastal Korea, the Sea of Japan, the Australian coast, the shipping lanes of Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, as well as coastal China.

shell.com