Insurer UK P&I Club has issued a warning that analysis of bunker fuel indicates more cases of contaminated fuel oil in the Rotterdam and Amsterdam areas (ARA), following an earlier alerts issued by Veritas petroleum services (VPS).
VPS reported that it investigated samples of VLSFO taken in the ARA region following reports that vessels using these fuels were experiencing operational problems, such as excessive wear of fuel pump plungers, barrels and injectors. One vessel lost propulsion and had to be towed, and the failure started with engines unable to take the load due to damage within the fuel system.
Using GC-MS (Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry) analysis methodology, numerous volatile organic compounds were detected within these fuel samples. The organic compounds that were detected in these fuel samples are phenols, styrenes, alcohols and ketonic compounds, ranging up to 40,000 ppm (4%) in total. This range of combinations does not originate from normal refinery processes and indicates contamination. Phenol-like compounds are often associated with fuel pump wear and damage.
The type of problems reported by the vessels was similar to those found with recent Singapore chlorinated hydrocarbon issues, but the contaminants in ARA were different. Further analyses by VPS using samples from the same region showed that the fuels had high total acid numbers (TAN), and all contained abnormally high potassium levels. Elevated potassium can lead to increased combustion deposits.
Due to the severity of the problems faced, UK P&I says it will be prudent to pre-test fuels bunkered using accredited testing methods as a precautionary measure to detect these contaminants and assess the risk that each bunker stem poses to machinery. During an actual claim scenario, the ability to properly pursue or defend bunker quality claims depends on the quality of the evidence. Good record-keeping is essential to the entire process, and the importance of proper bunker sampling cannot be overstated.
