Total Lubmarine, a division of Total Lubrifiants S.A., has launched Talusia Optima, a new cylinder lube oil compatible with high sulphur heavy fuel oils and ultra-low sulphur distillate fuels.

The new lubricant is a breakthrough development that will simplify the management of vessels trading globally in and out of Emission Control Areas (ECAs), and offers the potential to significantly reduce lube consumption and help extend engine life. Talusia Optima is suitable for use with fuels ranging in sulphur content of between 0 and 3.5%.

Talusia Optima has received a no objection letter from major OEM Winterthur Gas & Diesel (WinGD) for the use of the product across its two-stroke engine ranges.

“Today is the culmination of years of work in the lab and tests at sea and I am delighted that Talusia Optima is now on the market and available to our customers. It will make life on-board easier for ships’ crews and greatly minimise the risks encountered during fuel changeovers,” said Jean-Philippe Roman, Total Lubmarine’s technical director during the product launch at SMM in Hamburg, Germany.

“As the developers of the industry’s first single oil solution, Talusia Universal, we knew that demand for a single oil solution was strong. No ship operator or engineer wants added complexity and we have brought a lube that is compatible with all fuel types to market to meet our customers’ pressing need for a simple solution,” said Serge Dal Farra, Total Lubmarine’s global marketing manager.

Talusia Optima has already successfully completed thousands of hours of sea trials on a variety of two-stroke engine powered vessels. Regular drain oil analysis during the trials showed that Talusia Optima’s residual Base Number (BN) was always higher than that of other lubricants and total iron content always lower without any hard ash deposit formation.

Talusia Optima is based on an innovative and new type of chemistry known as Ashfree Neutralizing Molecules (ANM). The unique and patented technology provides fast and effective acid neutralization without any undesired mineral deposit build-up. High quality mineral components are used in combination with ANM to provide detergency and cleanliness.

WinGD has given approval for the use of Talusia Optima with its Wärtsilä RTA, RT-flex and X engines as well as in Sulzer 2-stroke engines.