Tricks of the Bunker Trade: Bunker Fuel Concealment Through Trim and List

by Kaivan H. Chinoy, Petro Inspect / The Bunker Detectives
Thursday October 24, 2013

When trying to detect bunker fuel concealment, it is important to note the trim and list of a vessel.

The perfect time for bunker quantity measurement is when no cargo and ballast operations are taking place and when the vessel is on even keel with no list.

However, during real-world bunkering operations this is not always practical.

As such it is important to check for list and trim accurately both before and after the soundings.

Take an average trim/list and always use the corrected trim for calculations.

About Petro Inspect and The Bunker Detectives

Bunker Detectives

Petro Inspect, previous known only as The Bunker Detectives, are a dedicated team who primarily help ship charterers' & bunker brokers deal with bunker quantity disputes (which do not fall under P&I cover for charterers'), and also offer an exclusive service to ship charterers' dealing with 'Bad' Bunker dispute claims, such as the supply of contaminated or off- specification bunkers.

The core services provided under the banner of 'Bunker Detective' are 221B Surveys (aka Bunker Detective Surveys), Bunker Stem Surveys (aka Bunker Quantity Surveys - BQS) and Charter On/Off Hire and Condition Surveys, as well as a bunker fuel concealment detection services.

About Kaivan H. Chinoy

A qualified Mercantile Marine Officer with an MSc Degree in "Technical Management of Ship Operations," prior to founding AVA Marine Kaivan spent over 15 years involved in extensive marine operations including vessel navigation, cargo handling, accident investigations, project cargo risk management, and marine cargo surveying.

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