2011 saw a sharp rise in claims of entrained air in bunkers. Entrained air, or the 'cappuccino effect' as it is more commonly known, is an increasingly cited phenomenon by fuel buyers that occurs during bunkering. However, there appears to be a lack of understanding regarding what constitutes entrained air in bunkers. The confusion in the industry today seems to stemfromwhether the presence of air bubbles seen in fuel upon delivery is normal or excessive. Entrained air may occur for example due to the practice of tank stripping, which is the process of pumping from the bottomof a bunker tank in order to empty it which can produce entrapped bubbles in fuel. Consequently if tank stripping is not controlled effectively this can make a fuel delivery appear to be of a larger volume (and the derived fuel mass) than it actually is. Air-blowing (also known as purging) after bunkering is also a standard industry practice to aid in cleaning of the bunker delivery hose before being detached fromthe receiving ship to help avoid any oil spill. Although this practice is common, there have been cases where this process has been abused. Therefore it is of utmost importance to distinguish between genuine instances of aerated bunkers, and occurrences where there is intent to abuse existing standard industry bunkering procedures. The potential economic losses when entrained air is deliberately introduced into fuel can be substantial and it is understandable that ship owners might be concerned about cappuccino bunkers especially in today's climate of high fuel costs and depressed earnings capacity by ship operators. However, it is important for fuel buyers to understand that tank stripping and air blowing at the end of the bunker delivery are common industry practices, as far as they are effectively controlled and not done excessively. Bunker surveyors will measure the quantity of fuel of the nominated bunker tanks of the barge prior to delivery at which point entrained air if encountered and observed would be reported. Together with the closing sounding of the bunker delivery barge an industry acceptable accurate quantity figure can be derived, which would constitute the delivered bunker quantity. Fuel surface air bubbles may be observed by the receiving ship after bunker delivery, however, these should be considered superficial in nature after taking into account tank stripping and hose clearing. Frequent gauging of the receiving tanks during bunkering is one of the methods that can give a clear sign of any air being introduced as accumulated air bubbles can be seen on the gauging tape. Notwithstanding the presence of an independent surveyor during bunkering the following warning signs would indicate something is amiss with a bunker delivery to the crew onboard the receiving ship.
- Bunker delivery hose jerking. - Gurgling sound when standing in vicinity of bunker manifold. - Fluctuation of pressure indication on the manifold pressure gauge. - Fluctuations of level indication gauge of bunker tanks. - Excessive bubbles observed on the sounding tape prior and after delivery. - Slow delivery rates, when air is being introduced during pumping. If several of the above warning signs are observed, the ship's crew should, preferably with the help of an independent surveyor, launch a thorough investigation to get to the root cause of any potential malpractice of entrained air during bunkering operations. It is worth reiterating that it is fairly common for the bunker delivery hose to jerk and for superficial air bubbles to be observed following hose clearing and these should not be deemed automatic indicators of foul play. If the opening gauge is performed correctly, the quantity would have been measured prior to the hose clearing and/or tank stripping. Hence, any froth observed after would not have any bearing on the quantity delivered as such. Working with surveyors to measure bunker quantity is one of the key measures of preventing misunderstanding. It is also important that any concerns are flagged as soon as they are noticed and shortly after delivery. It goes without saying that surveyors are independent parties whose first priority is to ensure the accurate measurement of fuel quantity. Douglas Raitt, 20th J anuary 2012 05:05 GMT Comments on this Article Steve Findlay 25th J anuary 2012 Interesting article and particularly given that I aminvolved in the investigation of a number of "cappuccino effect" issues at the moment. Most of the bunker delivery shortfalls tend to be around 20mt to 50mt but I have one particular case that involves a shortage of 250mt and this represents around 30% of the total product alleged to have been supplied. There are rumours that Nitrogen is somehow introduced into the fuel at or prior to delivery and I would be interested to know if there have been any similar reports. Douglas Raitt Bunkerworld Forums - BunkerBlogs - Bubbles? http://www.bunkerworld.com/forum/blogs/24/109980/Douglas-Raitt/B... 1 of 2 6/16/2012 8:48 AM Lloyd's Register FOBAS 31st J anuary 2012 Hi Steve, to our knowledge there have not been similar reports. It is hard to see why anyone would resort to such a tactic as Nitrogen is a high premiumproduct and there would appear to be little benefit in using nitrogen as opposed to (free) air in such situations. Air, in any case, consists of 79% nitrogen after all. If this in an actual scamit would have to be quite sophisticated in order to have the required nitrogen on hand. However, it's difficult to fathoma good reason why anyone would go through all that trouble. It may be the case if the nitrogen takes much longer to migrate out of the oil (till the receiver is well over the horizon), but even so, any sample drawn out of the bunkers would still have the appearance of an aero chocolate bar. Of course, since any Residual Fuel Oil can be 0.2% - 0.8% (even over 1%) elemental nitrogen, anything up to those limits should not be taken as a sign that nitrogen has been deliberately introduced into the fuel. Steve Findlay 18th March 2012 Many thanks for your reply/comments Douglas and yes, I would agree that using Nitrogen seems to be a rather pointless and indeed difficult means of inflating the product. We are presently carrying out tests using various gases and chemicals as we now have a very similar case involving a shortage of 330mt on a delivery of 1750mt. This is clearly becoming a somewhat serious issue that may well lead to significant consequences involving bunkering operations at Singapore. J erry Wang Emerson Process Management Asia-Pacific Pte Ltd 30th March 2012 Emerson mass bunker flow meter can take care of aeration issue in bunkering. Oleg Micevic Cross Keys Maritime Solutions Pte Ltd 11th April 2012 Dear Steve and J erry, I dont think it is necessary to have a mass flow meter to detect a loss of 20% of delivered bunker fuel. Also, with losses on that scale it would be probably wiser to investigate the individuals involved in this transaction on all sides and report it to the relevant authorities. Robert Markoja CiDRA Power Generation 12th April 2012 This is a very interesting blod. I have had 2 inquiries within 3 days regarding air entrainment in bunker fuels. Both inquiries were fromcompanies interested in determining the amount of air in the bunker fuel that became apparent to themafter a couple of days following natural de-aeration or settling of the oil. The CiDRA SONARtrac GVF-100 Gas Volume Fraction meter can be used to assess the amount of entrained air in bunker oil during transfer to ship. The GVF-100 clamps on the outside of a pipe and is able to provide real time entrained air measurements in the range of 0-20% air / gas by volume. This equipment has been used to correct positive displacement flow meters used for crude custody transfer and with coriolis meters used on 2-phase separators for oil field applications. Shishir Dutt Tolani Maritime Institute 14th April 2012 Dear Robert , Can you please comment on the initial cost , working principle , size and operation of this GVF-100 gas volume fraction meter . Which company has designed the same and it will be great if you can cite some examples where it has actually been on continuous use during each bunkering operation Steve Findlay 17th April 2012 Hi Robert and J erry. Whilst I amsure the equipment may help in reducing losses due to air or gas inflation of fuel delivered to a vessel, the crux of the issue is that it is something which is clearly happening, mainly at Singapore I believe, and absolutely nothing is being done about it. I have six shortage cases on my desk at the moment and doubtless there are many more out there. What is needed is a forumwhereby shipowners and shipcharterers who purchase fuel and then encounter such shortfalls, can identify the suppliers, supplying barges and surveyors involved. Of the six cases on my desk, two involve the same bunker barge and it may be that there are many other similar cases out there with that particular barge. If anyone has any similar cases or experiences please email me at steve@findlaymarine.com 2012 Petromedia Ltd Terms of Use Contact Us Bunkerworld Forums - BunkerBlogs - Bubbles? http://www.bunkerworld.com/forum/blogs/24/109980/Douglas-Raitt/B... 2 of 2 6/16/2012 8:48 AM Do not be caught off guard by introduction of new sulphur limit 2nd November 2011 06:32 GMT By now it is common knowledge that in less than two months, on the 1st of J anuary 2012, the global sulphur cap will fall from4.50% to 3.50% in accordance with MARPOL Annex VI regulations. It is important for ship operators to note that in order to comply with the new regulations, action needs to be taken now. In order to prevent being caught off guard, it would be wise for shipowners and operators to begin the transition as soon as possible. As this limit applies to the fuel oil as it is actually used, it will be necessary to ensure that any fuel oil on board with sulphur content that exceeds 3.50% m/mhas been fully consumed. Most importantly, the maximumsulphur limit given in charter party bunker clauses or bunker nominations will need to be duly amended sufficiently in advance of the deadline in order to avoid ships being supplied with quantities of fuel oil about the 3.50% m/mlimit which they will not be able to consume fully before the implementation date. Since the 3.50% limit is not restricted to those delivering sulphur controlled fuel oil to be used in Emission Control Areas, all suppliers need to be mindful that they are prepared to supply fuel that is compliant with the new limits. Even as suppliers work to ensure adequate supply of fuel that meets requirements, according to FOBAS data, 10-15% of bunkerings worldwide will be affected by this change. Due to the international nature of the petroleum industry, affected fuel will not be isolated to oil producing areas that are known for their high sulphur fuels. It is worth noting that in accordance with MARPOL Annex VI requirements, it is the responsibility of receivers of fuel oils to ensure that all bunker delivery notes provided by suppliers correctly document the actual sulphur content and that the value does not exceed the maximumspecified. Leaving these necessary steps to the last minute could have costly consequences for ship operators who find that there is excess fuel in their tanks that does not meet requirements and needs to be blended or, in a worst-case scenario, de-bunkered. This is not to mention the potential penalties should they find themselves on the wrong side of regulations come the New Year. Douglas Raitt, 2nd November 2011 06:32 GMT 2012 Petromedia Ltd Terms of Use Contact Us Bunkerworld Forums - BunkerBlogs - Do not be caught off guard by int... http://www.bunkerworld.com/forum/blogs/24/107814/Douglas-Raitt/D... 1 of 1 6/16/2012 8:49 AM Testing means 17th December 2010 03:44 GMT 2010 has been an interesting year with a number of important regulations introduced and great strides have been made in improving fuel standards. The introduction of the revised ISO 8217 standard in particular drew a loud debate with numerous industry players voicing their concerns. However, it is worthwhile to carefully examine whether the hue and cry over the cited limitations of these standards have a real basis in fact. Most recently, the issue of H2S has been raised again with some testing agencies declaring that the 2.00 mg/kg limit was insufficient to protect fromthe dangers of H2S. In November, FOBAS issued a bulletin addressing some of these concerns. While theory is undoubtedly important in establishing guidelines, the conclusion should be grounded in a fair amount of reality and based on facts before declaring danger. A technological possibility of complete removal of H2S frombunkers does exist, but it would need to be assessed against the price of such fuel treatment before implementation of such a step on a large industrial scale. After all, the use of residual fuel for so many years as marine fuel has been almost solely based on cheaper price market drivers. The established H2S limit is a preventive measure as there have not been widespread reports of shipowners facing problems with H2S, nor is it a new issue and most are aware of the potential problems as well as the measures to guard against it as part of overall occupational safety hazard measures. While speculation also ran rife regarding the projected increase in off-specification fuels with the introduction of the new standard, the reality was that the vast majority of fuels fell within the new specification limits regardless whether they were using the ISO 8217:2005 or ISO8217:2010 standard. In fact, the new limits bore in mind the qualities of fuel already being available in the market, the tightening limits left less leeway for variation but most fuels supplied today already meet ISO 8217:2010 standards. The situation in laboratories can be far removed fromthe realities on ships themselves. While safety is of course a key concern, we have found that issuing baseless warnings against contaminants that may be totally harmless and are not based on real dangers can cause more harmthan good and lead to a significant amount of disinformation being disseminated and confusion created throughout the industry. The danger of raising suspicions before they are substantiated by both further study and empirical evidence of damage on ships is to confound the industry and will lead to increased costs in terms of time and money. Fuel testers are often regarded as experts, as we should be, however, it is therefore extra important that we weigh what we say in acknowledgment that there are implications when we sound warnings. As fuel testing agencies, we have a responsibility to work in the best interests of our customers. This does not only mean ensuring that they receive fuel that is tested to be safe for use and fit for purpose, but also that they are not burdened by unnecessary costs. It is increasingly beginning to seemthat the key interest of testing agencies is to drumup more sample numbers rather than doing a technically sound job as a fuel testing service provider. Ship owners rely on us to provide sound technical advice and potential problems are not necessarily actual problems - crying wolf is in no one's interest. Douglas Raitt, 17th December 2010 03:44 GMT 2012 Petromedia Ltd Terms of Use Contact Us Bunkerworld Forums - BunkerBlogs - Testing means http://www.bunkerworld.com/forum/blogs/24/98982/Douglas-Raitt/Tes... 1 of 1 6/16/2012 8:55 AM The Black Art of Blending 28th May 2012 04:26 GMT As rising costs cast the spotlight on bunker fuel, blending practices have become more advanced and complex. Indeed, the process of blending plays a critical role in helping ship operators to receive fuel that is not only fit for purpose and safe to use, but also offers the best price per metric tonne of fuel in terms of energy content. Recently, a variety of factors have influenced the blending process and this has had an impact on the composition of fuel delivered to ships. The product in bunker tanks on board of ships is the result of optimization between production costs and compliance with customer specifications. The main target blend specification for bunker fuel in the past was initially viscosity, reflected in product names such as IFO180, IFO 380 etc. As refining techniques became more and more sophisticated density also became a critical blend target. This often required blending heavy grades of residual product with more costly distillates and cutter stocks to enable the fuel to be used safely. In this sense, blending was primarily a means of producing fuel that was both economical (using the least amount of cutter stock to meet specification targets) and fit for purpose. With the development of marine fuel standards such as ISO 8217, fuel blends also need to meet certain criteria that set out the parameters and general guidelines as to what constitutes acceptable fuel quality. At its core, blending needs to account for key qualities of fuel to be considered fit for purpose, stable with good ignition quality and combustibility. It is vital that all cutter-stocks used are compatible with the nature of the residual base stock in order to ensure the stability required of the overall blend is achieved. In recent years, changing environmental regulations have played a big part in shifting blending priorities and this has had consequences throughout the supply chain. Where blending was previously meant to help ship operators balance costs with functionality, growing sulphur regulations have meant that the sulphur content of the fuel has become a critical parameter in the blending process. Low sulphur fuels may have different qualities fromhigh sulphur fuels and may create problems for some engines if the ignition properties of blended fuel are impacted due to an unusual density/viscosity relationship as defined by the CCAI in ISO 8217: 2010. Blending to produce low sulphur fuel can also result in fuels with poor stability characteristics and possibly higher cat fine content if slurry oils are used as cutter stock. This makes it especially important for suppliers and ship operators to test fuel that has been blended to meet sulphur requirements and to also ensure that the fuel meets international marine fuel oil standards. Other trends such as bio-derived components becoming increasingly more popular in land based fuel applications over the years due to for example lower SOx and PM emissions, the likelihood that it could become present in the marine fuel supply chain may also increase. Fatty acid methyl ester,or FAME may pose adverse consequences when used in ship engines, the full effects of which are still being studied. ISO 8217:2010 does not allow the use of FAME, however it is difficult to avoid completely due to FAME being surface active, sticking to metal or glass surfaces. The risk of cross contamination where supply chain terminals, barges and trucks handle both marine fuel and bio-diesel are therefore real. While it is important for ship operators to meet their fuel requirements while minimizing costs, it is vital that the blending processes in the marine fuel supply chain not be overlooked. The costs of improper blending are very real and can result in off-spec fuel which in turn may be difficult for onboard handling and/or damage ships' engines. Fuel quality is constantly changing to meet the shifting demands of regulatory and economic forces and the supply chain needs to evolve with these effectively. Douglas Raitt, 28th May 2012 04:26 GMT Comments on this Article Enel Reina ACP 30th May 2012 great article, we recently had been hit by a fuel with alkylphenols and Alcohols. 2012 Petromedia Ltd Terms of Use Contact Us Bunkerworld Forums - BunkerBlogs - The Black Art of Blending http://www.bunkerworld.com//forum/blogs/24/113456/Douglas-Raitt/T... 1 of 1 6/16/2012 8:47 AM