Executive Summary
The global marine fuel landscape continued to evolve significantly in 2024, driven by increased adoption of biofuel blends, changing refinery blending practices, and growing operational challenges linked to fuel stability and contamination. The introduction of ISO 8217:2024 has further reinforced the industry’s focus on fuel quality assurance by incorporating updated testing requirements for biofuel blends.
Viswa’s analysis of fuel samples collected worldwide highlights key trends across VLSFO, HSFO, MGO, and biofuels, including regional variations in fuel characteristics, off-specification parameters, and operational performance concerns. The report identifies instability and sludging as major concerns for VLSFOs in 2024, with nearly 60% of operational problem cases linked to purifier choking and filter blockage issues.
The study also reveals an increase in fuel pump-related problems associated with contaminated VLSFO bunkers supplied in regions such as the US Gulf Coast, ARA ports, and Malta. Advanced GCMS investigations detected uncommon chemical contaminants and oxygenated compounds that may contribute to corrosion, sludge formation, and fuel pump seizure.
In parallel, the growing use of biofuels has introduced new operational considerations. While most bio-residual fuels demonstrated characteristics similar to VLSFOs, Viswa observed cases involving contamination, elevated free fatty acids, and fuel system corrosion risks in certain biofuel blends.
This report provides a comprehensive review of fuel quality trends, operational risks, and regional fuel behaviour observed during 2024, offering valuable insights to shipowners, operators, technical managers, and marine engineers navigating the increasingly complex marine fuel environment.