Marine fuel is a blanket term that describes five individual types of fuel used in maritime vehicles. These fuels are categorized their blends and viscosity.
  • MGO Marine gas oil
  • MDO Marine diesel oil 
  • IFO Intermediate fuel oil 
  • MFO Marine fuel oil 
  • HFO Heavy fuel oil

Origin: US, South America,  Europe
Marine Gas Oil
  • Marine gas oil (MGO) is similar to the diesel cars and trucks utilize.
Heavy Fuel Oil
  • Heavy fuel oil (HFO) is similar to the very heavy residual fuel burned in factories and is not typically used by itself; rather, it is blended with other maritime fuels.
Marine Diesel Oil
  • Marine diesel oil (MDO) is a blend of heavy fuel oil and marine gas oil.
Intermediate Fuel Oil
  • Like marine diesel oil, intermediate fuel oil (IFO) is a blend of heavy fuel oil and marine gas oil. It contains less gas oil than marine diesel oil.
Medium Fuel Oil
  • Medium fuel oil (MFO) is a blend of heavy fuel oil and marine gas oil that contains less gas oil than both intermediate fuel oil and marine diesel oil
  • Residual oil: it is the heaviest fraction of the distillation of crude oil, with high viscosity (=> pre-heating necessary => used only in large ships) and high concentration of pollutants (e.g. sulphur). Its combustion produces a much darker smoke than other fuels and it needs specific temperature for storage and pumping. Due to these drawbacks, it is also the cheapest liquid fuel on the market.
  • IFO 180 (Intermediate Fuel Oil) : it is a mix of 98% of residual oil and 2% of distillate oil.
  • IFO 380 (Intermediate Fuel Oil) : it is a mix of 88% of residual oil and 12% of distillate oil. Due to the higher content in distillate oil, IFO 380 is more expensive than IFO 180.
  • MDO (Marine Diesel Oil) : it mainly consists of distillate oil and has a lower sulphur content than the three fuels described above.
  • MGO (Marine Gas Oil) : it is pure distillate oil and has the lowest sulphur content.