Singapore bunker contamination alert

Over the course of February-March 2022, VPS identified 34 vessels which received HSFO deliveries from two Singapore suppliers, which were contaminated with up to 2,000ppm of chlorinated hydrocarbons.

These bunker fuel contaminations have affected 14 vessels so far and the impact has been failure of the fuel system to the auxiliary engine resulting in loss of power and propulsion creating a blackout. Fuel system failure arose from seizure of the fuel pumps and plunger and barrel corrosion, caused by the bunker fuel contaminants.

VPS note that the HSFO fuel met the ISO 8217 specifications upon each delivery. However, VPS, via its in-house GC-MS HS (Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry Head Space) screening method identified the fuel contaminants listed below in each fuel. These were subsequently confirmed and quantified by more detailed forensic GC-MS methods

The problems listed above appear to be continuing to affect an increasing number of vessels.

The chemical contaminants differ to those found by VPS back during the 2018 Houston fuel issue. However, the number of cases identified at this time in Singapore, is at a higher level over the first six weeks compared to the number identified in Houston over a similar time period.

MyGlobeView – VPS Layer

North has collaborated with fuel testing experts VPS to provide our Members with global Very-Low-Sulphur Fuel Oil (VLSFO) bunker data on MyGlobeView.

The VPS fuel quality layer on our Members-only maritime intelligence platform MyGlobeView, helps our Members make more informed decisions on their VLSFO purchasing arrangements. It also allows the onboard engineers burning the fuel to have a better idea of what they might expect.

Leveraging the wealth of data collected by VPS based on thousands of bunker samples, the layer provides information on VLSFO bunker quality from around the world. Features exclusive to North Members include:

• Top 30 ports for cases of ‘off-spec’ bunkers in last two months
• Top 10 ‘off-spec’ parameters for each of the ‘Top 30’ ports
• Regional and historic overview and included data for ports or regions with no off-spec parameters
• VPS bunker alerts for the past 12 months

Find out more at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDXD8xL-IdM