• All responsible officers should be thoroughly familiar with every aspect of the ship’s bunkering system.
• One such officer must personally supervise the operation.
• The supervising officer should maintain close communication with the shore/barge, particularly regarding emergency stoppage procedures.

On arrival at the bunker port:

• Delivery documents from the fuel supplier must be examined and cross-checked with instructions from the owner/charterer.
• Parameters like density, viscosity, and sulphur content should be verified against the ordered specifications.

Instructions before any product transfer:

The officer in charge must confirm the following details with the person-in-charge of the barge or terminal. Both parties must sign the form to acknowledge:

• Pumping data
• Quantity and type of fuel to be transferred
• Initial transfer rate
• Maximum transfer rate
• Maximum transfer pressure
• Anticipated stoppage time
• Method of communication
• Hose condition
• Plugging of scuppers
• Availability of proper SOPEP materials at the manifold
• Agreed method of sampling

During bunkering:

• Both parties must maintain constant surveillance of adjacent waters to detect and prevent any leakage or spillage of oil.

• It is imperative that a representative sample is collected in sealed bottles. These must be signed and dated by both the Chief Engineer and the local supplier.
• Typically, four bottles are collected:
  • 2 for the ship
  • 2 for the barge (1 for supplier and 1 for MARPOL)
• In the event of a fuel quality issue, a sealed sample should be sent ashore by the Chief Engineer for proper analysis.
• If any genuine quality or quantity problem arises, the supplier must be notified as soon as possible. Delay may result in the supplier refusing liability.
• In such cases, a Letter of Protest should be issued by the Chief Engineer.

• The sample must reflect the entire fuel delivery and should ideally be taken via a drip feed method from the discharge side of the manifold, during the entire bunkering process.
• Samples should not be taken at the beginning or end of bunkering, as they will not represent the total volume loaded.
• Samples must also not be drawn from just one tank on the barge.