Dear customer,

Please find attached some general and special guide lines for changing over a vessel from its current supplier to the use of LUKOIL Marine Lubricants.

Our technical support engineers should be provided with the information about lubricant brand and grade of each application installed on board the ship.

Our lubricant recommendation is based on specification of manufacturers and the current lubricant in use. When setting up a LUKOIL Marine Lubrication Chart we take special care that changing over will be a smooth transition.

However, since different lubricants can have different properties or even different base stocks, this document shall help to reduce the risk of any issues during the transition phase from one supplier to LUKOIL Marine Lubricants.

Before LUKOIL Marine Lubricants launches a new product, an independent institute checks the compatibility and miscibility with other lubricant suppliers’ products. Although we follow up on new developments of major lubricant suppliers, a general warranty cannot be given. Furthermore, LUKOIL Marine Lubricants shall not be liable for any loss or damage resulting from any error or omission in this document.

The technical support engineer will discuss the Lube Chart with the customer and will draw attention to any machinery where special change-over procedures need to be followed. It must be ensured that the ship manager and the vessel are equipped with the Lube Chart, Technical Data Sheets (TDS) and Safety Data Sheets (SDS). These documents provide further information on product application, product benefits and first aid measures, which is essential before using any unknown product. LUKOIL Marine Lubricants TDS and SDS are enclosed to the Lube Chart on CD. For latest versions and updates please refer also to: www.lukoilmarine.com.

In case of any questions or if you are in doubt about any product recommendation or application, please contact LUKOIL Marine Lubricants.
Please limit the mixing of lubricants from different suppliers to the minimum. Before adding LUKOIL Marine Lubricants to the storage tank, the filling should be at its minimum quantity. For small volumes the normal oil drain interval can be followed. If topping up is required, the complete volume should be exchanged.

For larger volumes, where topping up is required, LUKOIL Marine Lubricants’ product should be filled on top of the lubricant in use. It is good practice to check beforehand that the used oil is in good condition and suitable for further use before topping up with LUKOIL Marine Lubricants. This can be ensured by taking a representative sample of the lubricant in use or by checking the latest used oil analysis report.
In case of trunk piston engine oils or other large quantities of lubricants containing detergent additives, special care should be taken. When topping up large quantities of new oil or replacing large volumes of used lubricants with new oil, it depends on the machinery condition and cleanliness whether it can lead to an increased level of deposits or even filter blockages. Hence, it is good practice to minimize the top up volume to 10% of the total system volume, as recommended by the CIMAC 29 Guidelines (chapter 4.6 Lubricating Oil Brand Change). In case of any questions or if you are in doubt, please contact LUKOIL Marine Lubricants.

The compatibility and miscibility of hydraulic oils containing the same kind of base oil is not a problem, but, on the other hand, hydraulic fluids based on e.g. mineral and synthetic based oils and water must not be mixed. The same applies to the additives: Additives containing zinc are readily miscible and compatible. Similarly, the miscibility and compatibility of mineral oils containing zinc-free and ash-free additive packages is also given, provided that the oils are in good condition and not contaminated. Any reaction between different additive packages (i.e. when mixing products containing zinc with zinc-free and ash-free products) can potentially cause problems like an increase in differential pressure of filters up to filter blockages.

It is recommended to add only fresh hydraulic oil directly from the drum to the system to preserve the cleanliness of the product. It should be ensured that specific manufacturers’ recommendations are followed. Some manufacturers specifically recommend a compatibility test.
It is always good practice not to mix different synthetic oils with each other and not to mix them with mineral oils. Of course, there are exceptions, but please get in contact with LUKOIL Marine Lubricants before changing over from any mineral oil to a synthetic oil or vice versa.

When changing over greases, as a general rule different grease types should not be mixed. Incompatibilities have been observed between different thickeners, base oil types and additives. Mixing incompatible greases carries the risk of bearing failure because it can result in a change of NLGI consistency (the grease might become too liquid and flow out of the contact zone or too solid to reach the contact zone). Another problem might be a steep decrease of the grease’s dropping point, which for bearings operating at higher temperatures might result in the grease flowing out of its contact zone.

If a change-over involves incompatible greases, it is recommended to purge the bearing or lubrication point and, if possible, remove and clean the bearing with a compatible solvent or cleaner. After that a sufficient amount of fresh grease should be added and the next one or two re-lubrication cycles should be performed at shorter intervals.