Figure No. 7 Transport and Transfer
Provided there is an option it should be refrained from employing uncertified barges.
In legal terms the transfer of the title for the fuel takes place at the rail. This is an uncomfortable location. For practical reasons supplier and customer normally agree to record the transfer either at the ship's or at the barge's manifold. Precisely this is the point where a sample should be taken, when possible with a drip sampler and in the presence of the chartered surveyor and a competent ship's staff.
Such sample must be sealed. signed and sent to an independent laboratory as soon as possible for immediate investigation. This is the most effective instrument to ensure that no fuel off spec remains undetected.
It is good practice to plan bunkering in a way that allows for a few days sailing on a fuel batch previously bunkered. At the end of this period analytical results of the fuel sampled should be at hand together with the confirmation that the fuel is fit for purpose, or not. In case the fuel is found unfit for purpose the ship operator, the supplier and in serious cases also ship owner and OEM must be consulted on how to proceed.
Most samples found off spec show minor deviations in less critical criteria only, like density, water or viscosity. In case the customer is convinced that the fuel treatment system can cope with this overshoot such claim normally is solved by financial compensation.
The fuel has to be replaced, however, in case the deviation from the spec is significant and it is foreseeable that the engine and its components will be damaged by the fuel or its ingredients. This is a time consuming and costly affair. It happens in less than one in thousand bunkerings. The probability that such a fuel is detected in good time before use is very high provided representative samples are taken and analyzed as mentioned above.
Subsequently bunkered fuel batches must be stored in separate tanks. This is for two reasons:
- A fuel tested as on spec is fit for use. This evidence can be spoilt by mixing it with a fuel not yet tested. The mix is therefore not certified as fit for purpose. - A fuel mix consisting of two stable fuels must not be stable. This can lead to significant problems with the fuel supply and treatment system.
The remaining rest of the fuel supply chain is under the control of the ship's crew. It still provides a significant number of pitfalls, dealt with in the following paragraphs.
3.6 Storage on Board
A fuel batch bunkered must be stored in one or several dedicated fuel tanks. These tanks must be equipped with tank heating in case fuels are bunkered with pour points above sea water temperatures. This can happen with all fuel categories above ISO 8217 : 1996 RMA 10. Fuel lines towards the fuel treatment system must be heated and insulated as well. Pumps of adequate capacity must be installed for feeding the treatment system and, moreover, to enable an offload of the batch in reasonable time provided found off specification.
Vent pipes should be installed in a way that protects them against the ingress of water resulting from damage and / or location on deck [12]. Tank over flow pipes should not lead to the deck, but to a dedicated over flow tank with adequate alarms, as postulated by the U.S. Coast Guard Regulations [13]. Man holes must be sealed properly against the accidental access of sea water, in particular, on open hull container ships.
