IOC commences deliveries of IMO-compliant low sulphur furnance oil

State-owned Indian Oil Corp (IOC) on Thursday said it has commenced delivery of fuel for ships that is compliant with International Maritime Organisation's (IMO) low sulphur mandate.

In a statement, the company said it commenced deliveries of IMO-2020-compliant Low Sulphur Furnace Oil (LSFO) with 0.5 per cent sulphur as marine fuel at Indian ports.

"The first such supply was made on October 26, 2019, to the LPG tanker Berlian Ekuator at Kandla port," it said.

IOC has made available LSFO 0.5 per cent S grade marine fuel for immediate deliveries at Kandla and Kochi ports.

"Bunker fuel deliveries at other Indian ports Mumbai, Mangalore, Tuticorin, Chennai, Visakhapatnam, Paradip and Haldia shall start by mid-November," it said.

IOC had earlier unveiled two new IMO 2020-compliant marine fuel grades as well as a range of marine lubricants specifically formulated and complaint with IMO 2020 low sulphur marine fuel specifications in Mumbai.

"The LSFO 0.5 per cent S grade is produced from sweet crude oil grades with kinematic viscosity in the range of 220-270 cSt and complies with ISO 8217:2017 RMG380 standard," IOC said. "This fuel addresses all quality considerations detailed by the International Organization of Standardisation in its recently released ISO 23263:2019 document including the Spot test for Compatibility."