VPS: Bunker Surveyors Still Needed With Mass Flow Meters, Quantity Issues Will Persist

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Monday March 21, 2016

Rahul Choudhuri, Managing Director, Asia, Middle East & Africa, Veritas Petroleum Services (VPS) has stressed the importance of the role of bunker surveyors when vessels are bunkered using mass flow meter (MFM) technology, as quantity problems will still persist.

Speaking last week at the International Bunker Industry Association (IBIA) forum being held in Singapore, Choudhuri said the technology was not simply a "plug and play" solution.

"We don't think it's that simple. Quantity differences will continue to exist and it's fair to assume that the seafarers are time-pressed, short-handed, and overworked in any port, not only in Singapore," he said.

As Ship & Bunker previously reported, in February the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) launched the world's first National Technical Reference for Bunker Mass Flow Metering, TR48 : 2015.

While this new reference covers all aspects of MFM use, from installation through to delivery, Choudhuri predicts seafarers "will not have in-depth knowledge of TR48 and how it is to be applied."

"For those who are unaware, the fuel surveyors' roles have been mentioned in TR48, and surveyors will be needed in a vast number of areas, whether it is the review of documents, post-delivery checks, what happens if the meters fail, quantity checks, and so on."

Choudhuri is certainly not the first to highlight that MFMs, which become mandatory in Singapore from 2017, will not eliminate the need for surveyors.

In October 2014, Abdul Farhan, Operation Manager / Chief Surveyor, Bunker Detective Asia Pte. Ltd, told Ship & Bunker that even when using MFMs, having an independent opening tank sounding before bunkering begins would be wise in the event of a MFM failure, so the bunker volume delivered at the end of the bunkering process can be determined.