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As of April 2016, Shell Marine Products (SMP) claims it has analysed over 50,000 cylinder drain oil samples via its Shell Rapid Lubricants Analysis (RLA) service.

Shell RLA is an oil condition monitoring service that is designed to help Shell Marine Products' customers keep their vessels running smoothly. According to Shell, many leading shipping companies are using RLA as an important part of their planned maintenance regime to identify potential oil or equipment issues before they become critical. The oil major says RLA helps deliver greater equipment reliability and reduced downtime.

Shell's RLA service is reported to have grown rapidly in recent years, with Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) such as MDT and Wärtsilä both recommending cylinder drain oil analysis for both new design engines and older models which have been economy tuned. With the evolution of engine design and increased performance, and slow steaming practices being the norm, Shell Marine stresses that its RLA Cylinder Check is a must for those who want to extend engine life and reduce operating costs.

"Ship operating profiles have changed due to various external complexities which have an impact on marine engines. Therefore, we worked with customers to identify the right maintenance strategies to optimise their operations and tailor our services around their requirements and needs," commented Marcus Schaerer, Global Technical Manager, Shell Marine Products.

SMP currently serves over 1,200 customers, with more than 9,000 vessels. SMP receives over 200,000 oil samples every year, and analyses them in six ISO-accredited RLA marine laboratories across the globe. A dedicated team made up of lubricants scientists and chief engineers personally diagnoses the received samples.

Dr Damir Blazina, who leads the RLA diagnosticians team, explained: "The number of samples has been increasing year-on-year and we would expect to analyse somewhere around 18,000 cylinder drain oil samples in 2016 alone. With the advent of cold corrosion, the advice that the diagnostician team gives is more important than ever. In the last couple of years we have diagnosed and offered individual tailored advice for nearly 2,000 critical samples. Think about it, we have offered advice on how to help in more than 2000 instances. It is critical to get the right advice as corrosion or scuffing can destroy a cylinder liner very quickly."

In addition to its existing service, Shell is poised to introduce a new offer to customers later this year - Shell Lube Monitor. It is the company's new cylinder condition monitoring service designed to run in tandem with the Shell RLA cylinder check.

"RLA data and data generated onboard from Shell's Onboard Alert iron analyser and Shell's Onboard Plus BN test kit will be evaluated to ensure Shell Lube Monitor customers get the right advice to strike the best balance between cost reduction and reliability," Shell explained.

Claudio Cocco, Technical Lead for Shell Lube Monitor, added: "All findings are delivered in an easy to read report and include a complete engine overview, historical data from both onboard and laboratory; but most importantly, are the comments from the Shell Lube Monitor experts highlighting areas for concern or possible places for optimisation."

Shell Lube Monitor is scheduled to roll out across Shell Marine Products' global network in the second half of 2016.