Americas News
Gulf Coast Fuel Supply Adds MFM to US Gulf Bunker Delivery Vessel
New US Gulf bunker supplier Gulf Coast Fuel Supply has added a mass flow meter (MFM) to its delivery vessel.
Fuel management system firm FUELTRAX fitted a mass flow meter to the Bonaire Trader, which supplies bunkers to ships around the Galveston area, the company said in a statement on its website last week.
MFMs are used for more accurate measurement of fuel supply volumes during bunker operations, seeking to avoid the quantity disputes that have been a widespread problem for the marine fuels industry. Their use is mostly not legally required except in Singapore, but several suppliers around the world have voluntarily paid to install them on barges as an indicator of a higher-quality service.
"The net effect of having FUELTRAX is like having a fuel surveyor on board to monitor the volumes received closely -- we can send a detailed log of the transfer afterward to our clients," Robert Love, CEO of Gulf Coast Fuel Supply, said in the statement.
"The meters allow us to deliver fuel faster than other suppliers because it eliminates the cumbersome process of measuring the fuel tanks before and after delivery.
"Using FUELTRAX saves us about 3 hours from the total time for a standard fuel transfer.
"Overall, our decision to partner with FUELTRAX to install FUELTRAX's Coriolis mass flow meters on Bonaire Trader benefits all parties in terms of time, accuracy, and crew safety."
