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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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