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Overview
Flame Marine is the world leading independent provider of diagnostic services based on cylinder
drain oil (scrapedown) and engine performance analysis for slow speed marine diesel engines. The process developed by Flame Marine over the
past ten years, enables environmental compliance with Marpol Annex VI, engine combustion and lubrication conditions
to be diagnosed during normal engine operation.
Working with ship owners, ship-managers, engine manufacturers and oil suppliers, Flame Marine provides detailed reports based upon analysis of engine fuels and
lubricants, engine performance data, historical trends and comparison with reference and accumulated data of similar engine types. These results are analysed and
interpreted to give you the clearest possible indication of what is actually happening inside the engine. It is precisely this level of detail that makes the service
so valuable to the research departments of Total Lubricants and MAN B&W as well as the owners and operators of over 300 ships worldwide.
The Flame Diagnostic service reduces the cost of slow speed marine diesel engine operation and
increases the reliability of the engines, environmental compliance and the
operational time at sea. Flame Marine is an independent company and is not affiliated with either oil companies or
engine manufacturers. You can be assured that its advice will be impartial and in your best interests.
Environmental Compliance
Flame Diagnostic has always helped to control the pollutants from large two stroke marine diesel engines. On 15th May 2005,
new regulations came into force which required ships to prove compliance to the new NOx requirements published by the Internation Maritime Organisation (IMO) in
Marpol 73/78 Annex VI. MAN B&W have published the Unified Technical File which demonstrates compliance with Annex VI
without needing expensive third party products.
A new section within the Flame Diagnostic report makes it easy to show compliance with the regulations using the Unified Technical File
and provides confidence for inspectors in the results. With the principle of multi-phenomena corroberation, Flame Diagnostic not only reports upon the
measurements required by the regulations but, using a detailed
analysis of engine performance and chemistry, also comments upon the reliability of those measurements.
The results reported by Flame Diagnostic may be included within the technical file of the ship as evidence of
compliance with the regulations. In the event that an engine fails compliance, a more detailed analysis of the causes is available within the main
report together with recommendations for remedial action.
Reduced Operating Costs
Every year, over US$2 billion is wasted by operators of large 2 stroke marine diesels in the over lubrication of cylinder oil feed. As well as hurting a company's
bottom line, over 1.25 million tonnes of additional, and unnecessary, contaminated cylinder drain oil waste has to be disposed.
Engines that follow Flame Diagnostic's controlled reduction in cylinder oil feed rates save, on average, US$60,000 per year in direct lubricating oil costs
as well as reduced waste oil disposal and engine overhaul charges.
This is not only tried, tested and well proven but enables your engines to run cleaner, with fewer problems and is good for the environment.
Condition Based Monitoring
Historically, engine manufacturers have recommended the periodic overhaul of engines based upon the number of hours that the unit has been running rather than the
condition of the engine. For some operators, this has worked well but for the vast majority the fixed overhaul interval has proved to be a burden; particularly
for tankers and containers ships.
Recently, engine manufacturers have come to realise that overhaul should be based upon the condition of the engine, not just the operating hours. This new
direction for overhaul is called 'Condition Based Maintenance'.
Flame Marine has been working with many companies for the last 10 years working to increase their periods between overhaul by closely monitoring the condition of
the engine using Flame Diagnostic. To date, we have managed to extend the period between overhaul for a number of ships to over 30,000 hours.
We do this by carefully monitoring the combustion and cylinder drain oil feeds rates of an engine to keep the engine 'as clean as possible'. We find
that the majority of clean, well run engines can meet a period between overhaul in excess of 30,000 hours.
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