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Fuel testing agency Lintec Testing Services has warned that three fuel oil samples taken recently from vessels that have bunkered in Riga, Latvia, have shown the presence of Dicyclopentadiene (DCPD), a synthetic substance not naturally occurring within marine fuel.

Commenting on the findings, Lintec Managing Director Geoff Jones said, “The presence of DCPD was detected by Lintec’s chemical screening service. This fuel is clearly in breach of Section 5.1 of the ISO-8217 specification, which clearly states that ‘the fuels should be homogeneous blends of hydrocarbons derived from petroleum refining. This shall not preclude the incorporation of small amounts of additives intended to improve some aspects of performance. The fuels shall be free from inorganic acids and from used lubricating oils. The fuel should not contain any added substance or chemical waste which jeopardises the safety of ships or adversely affects the performance of machinery, or is harmful to personnel, or contributes overall to air pollution.’

“If a vessel has recently bunkered in Riga or surrounding areas, we would strongly recommend that owners and operators have knowledge of the quality of the fuel prior to its use. They should ensure that the samples are taken correctly, together with the supplier at the custody transfer point (ship's manifold) and witnessed by the ships’ crew. The seal numbers on the samples must be recorded on the Bunker Delivery Note (BDN).”

Lintec Testing Services is one of the world’s leading fuel testing services. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of ITS Testing Services (UK) Ltd and has a global network with laboratories in the UK, Rotterdam, Singapore and Shanghai, providing a 24 hour global bunker fuel testing service.