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Insatech's S3 Smart Sulphur Switch bunker fuel blending device has been launched as an inexpensive solution for vessels that occasionally enter an Emissions Control Area (ECA) and need to control and document a vessel's fuel sulphur levels and emissions.

The S3 system is marketed as a product that is able to blend and adjust two fuels - heavy fuel oil (HFO) and marine distillates - to a desired sulphur level without fitting expensive scrubber units.

The primary target market for the product will be companies that find that the installation of a costly scrubber system is not a viable option for them, because their vessels only occasionally enter ECAs. The price of the S3 Smart Sulphur Switch is said to be only 5% of that of a scrubber.

The second target market will be vessel operators that choose to install scrubbers that cannot handle fuel with a sulphur content over a certain level (e.g 2%). According to Danish firm Insatech, these operators will be able to freely purchase the cheapest available HFO and blend it down to the sulphur content that their scrubber can handle.

Price and Running Costs

The price of the S3 Smart Sulphur Switch is said to be 5% of a scrubber, or approximately 140.000 euros. "Running costs are comparable to having a 100 Watt light bulb switched on," Insatech claims.

"A scrubber has extremely high running costs in comparison as water needs to be pumped from the sea all the way up to the top of the stack, chemicals need to be purchased and stored safely on board, chemical waste is generated and needs to be stored on board, and logistics have to be in place in ports for safe removal of the chemical waste and shipped to a facility where the chemical waste can be safely disposed of. In conclusion, the running costs of the S3 Smart Sulphur Switch are totally negligible and are less than 0.1% of a scrubber," Insatech added.

Installation and maintenance

According to the manufacturer, maintenance of the S3 Smart Sulphur Switch is negligible apart from an annual calibration to ensure that the documentation generated will be accepted by authorities worldwide. Installation is said to be very simple as the unit is supplied as a small skid so only a gas oil line and a HFO line need to be connected at one end, and a discharge line at the other end. The skid has a footprint comparable to a standard pallet. Electrically all that is required is a standard power plug connector. In reality the installation can be accomplished in a few hours and with minimum costs, the Danish firm says.

Savings

Based on the present pricing (August, 2013) of 3.5% sulphur HFO (600 USD per tonne) and 0.1% sulphur MGO (900 USD per tonne), Insatech says that a vessel using 1 tonne per hour will be able to save approximately 6000 USD per day by blending the two fuels to 1% sulphur content compared to using 100% MGO.