Asia/Pacific News
Use More Surveyors to Curb Singapore MFM Malpractice: LR
The apparent increase in mass flow meter (MFM) malpractice in Singapore could prevented by the increased use of bunker surveyors, says Lloyds Register (LR).
The call follows news this week that Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) revoked Inter-Pacific Petroleum's bunker craft licence after an investigation "revealed magnetic interferences affecting the measurements of bunkers supplied in numerous Mass Flow Meter readings across Inter-Pacific's fleet of Bunker Tankers."
In May, Southernpec lost its bunker supplier licence after it was also found to have used magnets to interfere with the mass flow meter during bunkering operations.
While there had been speculation for some time as to whether it is even possible to disrupt MFM meter readings with a magnet, until recently most had dismissed it as little more than market chatter.
However, in March of this year Ship & Bunker published the first public evidence of an attempt to exploit such a malpractice that had been uncovered by Petro Inspect.
Magnets are not the only way suppliers have tried to influence MFM readings, and as LR notes, the recent suspensions follow those of Pegasus Maritime, Transocean Oil, and Panoil Petroleum for other Mass Flow Meter operational malpractices.
"Some industry sources have already started to quote that such malpractices could be avoided by the increased use of bunker surveyors. This announcement highlights and reinforce the importance of appointing an independent Bunker Quantity Surveyor during bunker operations on your vessel," LR said in a note released today.
"The Surveyors are trained to not only obtain and verify delivered quantities but also are skilled in identifying unusual events and activities that could jeopardize a full and fair delivery of your bunkers."
