Diesel up by 50% !

[Mikey1]

Do you think this is an April fool joke?

http://www.whatcar.com/news-article.aspx?NA=231993

 

[Mikey1]

Im not sure found this info ftom the 28th March 2008

Diesel Switch Price Impact Warning

London, 28 March

Distributed by PR Newswire on behalf of The Technology for Sustainable Shipping Group

LONDON, March 28 /PRNewswire/ -- A ship industry proposal to switch the world's merchant fleet to diesel fuel will send oil soaring through the $150-a-barrel mark, stoking fears of higher petrol prices and rampant inflation, an environmental technology group said on Thursday.

It will mean even higher prices at British petrol pumps, with the GBP10 gallon a distinct possibility as demand begins to outstrip supply. Consumers will also feel the knock-on effect of higher food and energy bills.

Shipping circles are debating how to reduce harmful sulphur dioxide emissions, which cause acid rain, respiratory illnesses and heart problems.

Part of the industry, led by the independent tanker owners' organisation Intertanko, wants a total ban on high-sulphur marine fuels in favour of lower sulphur diesel fuels.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO), the UN agency responsible for preventing pollution from ships, will consider the controversial fuel proposal when its Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) meets in London Monday (31 March).

The switch to diesel at sea would be equivalent to one and a half times the annual automotive diesel consumption in Europe.

Robert Clarke, spokesperson for the Technology for Sustainable Shipping Group said the idea "did not make any sense" environmentally or economically.

"It is not a cost-effective way to improve the environment," he said. "The oil market impact alone would likely more than double the cost of marine fuels and substantially increases prices of diesel, aviation jet fuel and heating oil on land.

Refineries would need to produce an extra 250 million tonnes of distillate fuels a year to meet the new diesel at sea demand, requiring around one billion tonnes per annum of crude.

"That's more than double annual production of Saudi Arabia," Clarke said. "The increase in the cost of crude oil is also likely to spell bad news for the economy as costs and prices rise. And the development poses a major threat to international economies, which are already suffering from the global credit crunch.

Clarke also said the ship industry proposal to switch to diesel risked raising carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the manufacturing process.

The Technology for Sustainable Shipping Group is an informal forum designed to communicate the benefits of emissions reduction technology. Members of the forum include The Torvald Klaveness Group (Norway), BP Krystallon (UK), Marine Exhaust Solutions (Canada) and W

 

[nick_374224697]

Scaremongering if it's not a joke.....just a pile of pish aimed at the already fragile motorist and playing to their weaknesses to boost sales of their mag I reckon.

 

[Del_374232870]

may sound stupid, but I always was under the impresion that ships have run on diesel for years. If thats not the case then what have they been running on?

 

[rob_jax]

Del,

Bunkerage or bunker fuel.

Most ships will be engined with a marine diesel - either a large, slow revving 2-stroke or a medium speed four-stroke, all are compression ignition (diesel) engines but the fuel is not the same diesel as used in road vehicles.

Diesel is just one type of six common fuel oils, classified according to boiling point and viscosity.

Kerosene and Jet Fuel are a #1 fuel oil, Diesel is a #2 fuel oil - modified for cetane number, and Ships use #5 or #6 "heavy fuel oil" - which need heating with steam to improve the viscosity before the engine will run.

These ship fuels are the residual crud that's left over after distilling all the valuable fractions at the refinery - and the crud is high in Sulfur and other pollutants - and this makes it cheap, very cheap in fact.

Robert

 

[RogerL]

So what will they do with all the bunkerage oil if ships don't use it - sell it cheap for old diesel cars, instead of chip oil?

 

[Mikey1]

Hi rob_jax

Is this change to diesel a possibilty?

 

[COLIN_5095629]

hi

ships run on heavy oil when they are out at sea ,this oil has to be pre heated before use as it is like treacle when cold,once heated it can be used more easly,

norway have put a proposal to stop using this oil as it gives of more pollutants,

 

[rob_jax]

Mikey,

Ships could use road diesel or diesel blended with heavy fuel oils, but they don't today because of the cost - there's a massive price difference.

Heavy fuel oil is truly hideous stuff - all of the non-volatile residue, and the impurities from the original plant material is concentrated into this fraction - living plant material is mostly carbon, hydrogen and oxygen with trace levels of sulfur, phosphorus, nitrogen, iron, copper, and all the other stuff you buy in fertiliser from the garden centre.

Heavy oil could be cleaned, but there's no specific refinery process that does this now - the plant and the technology needs to be built

Robert