ISO Marine Fuel Standards Revised *Update*

24 March 2017 – Update

The International Council on Combustion Engines (CIMAC) have published guidance on the ISO 8217:2017 marine fuel standard. Their report contains FAQs on the new standard and discusses the rationale behind the amendments. It also explains why the 0.1% sulphur fuels designed for operation in emission control areas (ECAs), which do not easily fit into any of the existing grade categories, were not included in the revision.

The CIMAC report can be read here.

22 March 2017

The new edition of the international standards on marine fuels has been released. Referred to as ISO 8217:2017, it includes some important changes from previous editions.Although not a strict mandatory quality standard, ISO 8217 is a widely used commercial specification, referenced in almost all bunker purchasing contracts and time charter parties.Published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) on 19 March 2017, the changes reflected in the 6^th edition include:

• Introduction of new distillate grades – DFA, DFZ and DFB – which allow a maximum fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) content of 7%.
• The definition of de minimis with regard to FAME content in other distillate grades is amended from 0.1% to 0.5%.
• Cloud point and cold filter plugging point have been added to winter grades of DMA and DMZ.
• Reduced sulphur limits for most distillate fuel grades. 

North reported these changes and discussed them in more detail in our Signals newsletter article in April 2016 which can be read here.