Bad Bunkers: Damage From Contaminated Fuel in Pictures

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Wednesday August 15, 2018

Reports of "bad bunkers" have been one of the main talking points of the summer, hitting major markets including Houston, Panama and Singapore.

The quality complaints are unusual not only in their apparent scale, but that the bunkers are said to be unfit for use despite passing conventional fuel testing analysis as per ISO8217.

This makes it difficult to identify the faulty fuels in a timely manner, and importantly, before a quality claim becomes time-barred. There is already at least one case filed in the US that seeks to address such a problem.

The most common complaints from using such fuels are sticking of fuel plungers, blocked fuel filters, and/or fuel-pump seizures and failures, with the most extreme cases said to have caused total main engine failure.

In the interests of sharing as much information on this matter as possible with the community, Ship & Bunker publishes here images of alleged damage caused by so-called "bad bunkers."

The images are courtesy of, and reproduced with permission by, INTERTANKO who in turn were provided the images by their members.

Damaged HFO Separator

Damaged Fuel Injector Pump, Plunger

Blocked HFO Separator and Fuel Filter

Pumps and Plungers

Have you been affected by bad bunkers?

If so, please contact us at editor@shipandbunker.com and let us know the date, port, and supplier for the stem along with the symptoms you experienced and any other information you feel is relevant. All submissions will be treated in confidence.