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REPORTING OF INAPPROPRIATE FUEL OIL SAMPLING CASES

Circular Ref: O(23)06

Members are aware that since the year 2009, the IMO’s bunker sampling Guidelines, MEPC.182(59), have been assisting the shipping industry, bunker suppliers and test laboratories around the world, by providing uniform procedures of taking representative fuel oil samples during a ship’s bunkering. MEPC.182(59) requires a sample of fuel delivered to the ship to be obtained at the receiving ship’s inlet bunker manifold and drawn continuously throughout the bunker delivery period.


 


Regarding industry standards, earlier editions of ISO 13739 ‘Petroleum products – procedures for the transfer of bunkers to vessels’ and other recommendations such as those of some oil majors recommended that the sampling location might be at either end of the bunkering hose. This misalignment between MEPC.182(59) and industry standards became a source of disputes between ships and suppliers when they signed bunkering contracts. However, ISO 13739 was finally revised to be aligned with MEPC.182(59) regarding the sampling location in the year 2020. The IMO’s best practices for fuel oil suppliers, MEPC.1/Circ.875/Add.1 (2018), also state ‘bunkers delivered at the point of custody, which can be the receiving ship’s rail or manifold, to meet the buyer’s ordered specifications’. SS600 issued by the Singapore Maritime Porty Authority has a similar provision. 


 


However, Members are still experiencing different procedures adopted by fuel oil suppliers that are not in accordance with the IMO Guidelines and industry standards. In order to establish the current industry practices and the extent to which different bunkering procedures are applied, ICS, INTERTANKO and INTERCARGO have agreed to launch a one-year joint reporting exercise on inappropriate fuel oil sampling cases. Based on the combined case reports from Members, an IMO submission will be developed, calling for IMO Member States’ attention and appropriate actions.


 


Members are hereby invited to report fuel oil sampling cases which they consider to be inappropriate, using the reporting template attached at Annex A. Please click to open the link. 


 


The reporting exercise will conclude on 31 January 2024


 


Please forward completed reporting forms to Sunil Krishnakumar, ICS Senior Technical Manager.  at  (sunil.krishnakumar@ics-shipping.org )


 


MC(23)19 -Annex A – Form for Reporting Inappropriate Fuel Oil Sampling Cases

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