ISO releases much-anticipated IMO 2020 compliant fuel specification

The ISO has released its new publicly available specification for IMO 2020 compliant marine fuel this week, and this comes at a key juncture when the marine fuel markets transit towards the IMO’s sulfur limit mandate from January.

The new document addresses quality considerations that apply to marine fuels in view of the implementation of maximum 0.5% sulfur in 2020, the ISO website said.

The ISO/PAS 23263:2019 document “Petroleum products — Fuels (class F) –Considerations for fuel suppliers and users regarding marine fuel quality in view of the implementation of maximum 0.5% sulfur in 2020” is now available, the website showed Thursday. The update comes after the current ISO 8217:2017 edition.

Marine fuel market participants have long been keeping a watch on the release of the document amid an ongoing lack of clarity on actual specifications.

It defines the general requirements that apply to all 0.5% sulfur fuels and confirm the applicability of ISO 8217 for those fuels, the website added.

The document also covers technical considerations pertaining to characteristics such as kinematic viscosity, cold flow properties, stability, ignition characteristics and catalyst fines.

Low sulfur bunker fuels are set to take up the majority of marine fuel demand in 2020, once IMO’s sulfur mandate is implemented.

S&P Global Platts launched daily cargo and barge assessments for Marine Fuel 0.5% reflecting residual marine fuels, with a maximum sulfur limit of 0.5% across the globe starting January 2, 2019.

Platts also launched assessments of IMO-compliant marine fuel 0.5% bunker from July 1 at key global ports.

The IMO-compliant Marine Fuel 0.5% bunker assessments reflect specifications for RMG fuels as defined by the International Organization for Standardization in document ISO 8217:2010 Petroleum products — Fuels (class F) — Specifications of marine fuels, but with a maximum sulfur limit of 0.5%.

in International Shipping News