Bunkering is Dangerous : Procedure for Bunkering Operation on a Ship

Bunkering is one process on ship which has been the reason for several accidents in the past. Bunkering on ship can be of fuel oil, sludge, diesel oil, cargo etc. Bunkering of fuel or diesel oil requires utmost care and alertness to prevent any kind of fire accident or oil spill. In this article we will learn about the bunkering procedure on a ship and what are the important points that are to be taken into consideration while bunkering.

Bunkering Procedure Before Bunkering 1. The chief engineer should calculate and check which bunker/fuel oil tanks are to be filled after he receives confirmation from the shore office about the amount of fuel to be received. 2. It might be required to empty some tanks and transfer the oil from one tank to other. This is required so as to prevent mixing of two oils and prevent incompatibility between the previous oil and the new oil. 3.A meeting should be held between the members that will take part in the bunkering process and they should be explained about the following:a. b. c. e. f. Which tanks are to be filled. Sequence order of tanks to be filled. How much bunker is to be taken. Emergency procedure in case oil spill occurs. Responsibilities of each officer are explained.

4.Sounding is taken before bunkering and record is made. 5. A checklist is to be filled so that nothing is missed on. 6. All deck scuppers and save all trays are plugged.

 7.Overflow tank is checked to be empty. 8. Adequate lighting at bunker and sounding position is to be provided. 9. No smoking notice should be positioned. 10.On board communication between the people involved in bunkering is made. 11. Red flag/light is presented on masthead. 12. Opposite side bunker manifold valves are closed and blanked properly. 13. Vessel draught and trim is recorded before bunkering. 14.All equipments in SOPEP(shipboard oil pollution emergency plan) locker are checked to be in place. 15. When barge is secured to the ship side, the persons involved on barge are also explained about the bunker plan. 16.Barge paperwork is checked for the oils grade and the density if they are as per the specification. 17.The pumping rate of bunker is agreed with the barge. 18.The hose is then connected to the manifold. 19.All the valves required are open and checked. 20. Proper communication between the barge and the ship is to be established. 21.Sign and signals are to be followed as discussed in case of communication during emergency. 22.After this, the manifold valve is open for bunkering. During Bunkering 1. During start of the bunker the pumping rate is kept low, this is done so as to check that the oil is coming to the tank to which the valve is opened. 2. After confirming the oil is coming to the proper tank the pumping rate is increased as agreed before. 3. Generally only one tank filling is preferred because gauging of more than one tank at a time increases the chances of overflow. 4. The max allowable to which tank is filled is 90 % and when the tank level reaches about to maximum level the barge is told to pump at low pumping rate so as to top up the tank, and then the valve of other tank is opened. 5. During bunkering, sounding is taken regularly and the frequency of sounding is more when the tank is near to full. Many vessels have tank gauges which show tank level in control room but this is only to be relied if the system is working properly. 6. The temperature of bunker is also to be checked; generally the barge or supplier will provide the bunker temperature. Temperature above this may lead to shortfall in bunker. 7. A continuous sample is taken during bunkering with the help of sampling cock at the manifold. After Bunkering

1. Draught and trim of the ship is checked. 2. Take sounding of all the tanks bunkered. 3. The volume bunkered should be corrected for trim, heel and temperature correction. 4. In general for each degree of increase in temperature the density should be reduced by 0.64 kg/m3. 5. Four samples are taken during bunkering. One is kept onboard, one for barge, one for analysis, one for port state or IMO. One sample is given to barge. 6. The chief engineer will sign the bunker receipt and the amount of bunker received. 7. If there is any shortfall of bunker received the chief engineer can issue a note of protest against the barge/supplier. 8.After everything is settled the hose connection is removed. 9.The sample is sent for laboratory analysis. 10. The new bunker should not be used until the report from the lab.

The Ultimate Guide to Fuel Oil Bunkering Process on Ships

March 6, 2012 By Mahendra Singh 1 Comment

Fuel oil bunkering is a critical operation on board ships which requires receiving oil safely into the ships tanks without causing overflow of oil. The quantity of fuel oil to be received is decided in consultation with the master. In accordance with the ensuing voyage, adequate reserves of oil is taken which would be sufficient normally for 3 day but 5 days in case of long Atlantic or pacific voyages where there is no chance to receive oil en route. (The amount of oil to be taken depends on the number of days the ship would be at sea before it reaches the next port) In which tanks the oil is to be taken is discussed with the chief officer to ensure proper draft and trim of the ship is maintained and also to avoid mixing of oils as much as practicable.

For this purpose a pre-bunker conference is held among the ships crew, so that everybody understands all the issues involved and each one knows his or her duties and precautions that are to be taken to avoid overflow, including actions to be taken in case of an oil spill. Now, this conference is not to be formal but an interactive, sincere and extremely communicative one. Bunker plan made by the Chief Engineer is to be discussed and in some companies the plan is also sent to the owners for approval before starting the bunkering process. The idea is that somebody superior has seen the plan to ensure that you will not overfill and keep the oil temperature in mind (say 50 degree Celsius).

The Bunkering Process

The first job is to see that the bunker barge is taken alongside safely. (During one of my voyages, the barge could not come alongside the ship and we had to shift anchorage to commence the process). The chief officer along with the crew should ensure that the barge is taken alongside safely and a safe means of access is provided to the barge crew. This part is very important. It is often noticed that people generally knock-off after the ropes are tied and the pilot ladder is lowered, without checking whether the bunker man is able to board the ship safely using the ladder or not. At times you need to rig and lower the gangway while continuously adjusting the height as the oil transfer progresses. For these purpose, it is always advisable to keep good personal and professional relationship with the ships bosun who can easily help with the process without bothering the chief or duty officer. The level of ships safety can be taken to great height when the deck and engine departments work in unison. The cooperation becomes more achievable when the Ships Master and Chief Engineer work in unison. This has to be mutually practiced by respecting each others views and actions. Once the barge is safely alongside and the bunker man is in the Engine Control Room (ECR), the Chief Engineer and his assistant (say 4 Engineer) should check important specifications and discuss the following things: 1. The rate of filling (not exceeding 300T/hr) 2. The pressure on the bunker line (generally not exceeding 3 bar) 3. The sampling procedure 4. Which oil be taken first (In case of more than one grade of oil is to be taken)
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5. Meaning of emergency stop signals (to be mutually well understood) While this is being done, the other bunkering team at the deck is receiving the hose and connecting it to ships flange. This operation is generally carried out with the first engineer (or 2nd/E) along with the fitter (or 5th engineer) actively participating.

To know the complete step-by-step Bunkering Procedure, read here. Important points to consider during the bunkering process 1. A good joint and a bolt in each hole are must.

Earlier I never used to put all bolts and mostly used only 4 of them. But once while bunkering at Singapore anchorage during evening time, the wind picked up and the forward mooring rope of the barge parted, swinging the bunker barge and putting tension on the bunker hose. For quite a few minutes the bunker hose was in tension until the barge crew manoeuvred the barge alongside again. That day I learnt the importance of putting a bolt in each hole and the reason why USCG and Singapore Authorities insist on this point. 2. Before starting bunker please check

the line and valves once again, (re-check) and do not

forget to open the valve at the bunker flange. Once I had forgotten to open the flange valve and asked to start the filling. However, I realised the mistake and quickly opened it before any damage could be done, but the bunker man (at Suez) noticed that and extracted a can of paint from me. His excuse was that the bunker barge pump could have been damaged becauseof my mistake. It is therefore important that the chief engineer must be present on the spot throughout the bunkering process. 3. While the bunkering is in progress, one must keep checking

and noting down the

sounding (ullage). This will give an idea of the filling rate along with the quantity in each tank.

4.

Start with two tanks (Port & Starboard) and maintain

the oil flow by adjusting the valves to

ensure that the soundings in both the tanks are same or with a difference not higher than 20 cm. 5. Always remember the 85%

ullage figure and the rule OPEN first CLOSE after. This

means that as the tank level comes to 85% ullage, open the third tank valve first and then close the valve of the tank which is almost filled. 6. At times you might be disoriented by sudden showers and may lose concentration, leaving you unsure of your soundings (especially when the tank is about to fill up). At this time, if need be, DO NOT hesitate to stop

the bunking. I have seen many boys hesitate to stop the process. But it is rain coats (for e.g. if you are bunkering

always advised to Stop, Check, and then Re-start again. 7. When the sounding pipes are on open deck, go with the at Singapore in the evenings). 8. There is no need to fill up a tank 85 to 90% at one go. Check the tanks which are already filled up and then if you want to top them up more, follow the Inching

method.

Inching Method: Open the tank valve for 5 minutes (while other tanks are filling) and then close
again. Check the rise in cm and accordingly open it again for say 10 minutes. In this way you can achieve 90% of the tank level. However, please do not fill beyond this. A point has to be noted here When you change the tanks for filling, say from 1 P&S to 2P&S, check if the oil is coming properly in 2P&S tanks and then concentrate for some time on 1P&S. Generally we close the tank valves and get busy with 2P&S forgetting 1P&S completely. It is possible that the 1P&S is facing some problem such as tank valve leaking. An incident happened when a bolt was kept inside the bunker flange pipe (by oversight). It travelled to the tank valve and got stuck there. Obviously, the tank overflowed. This was an odd case, but the tank valves have been known to leak and therefore should be kept a watch on. 9. Keep checking the sampling

pot and adjust filling to get representative sample.

10.

Keep Marpol

sample safely and record the seal number and sulphur content.

Once while taking bunker at Panama, the vessel (Car Ship) was down by the head. Thus the pressure gauge at the manifold was showing less reading and towards the end was even showing slightly negative. We thought there was a problem with the bunker oil, but the oil in the tank was coming, though slowly. We told the bunker man that we have not received full quantity of oil, but as expected, he was emphatic. With great persuasion, he agreed to give 15T more (our shortage was showing 30T).Moreover, 3 Engineer could not go to the barge to check because of bad weather and large gap between two vessels created by thick fenders. At this time I realised that the quantity of oil is showing less because the ship is down by head and the pressure gauge was behaving abnormally because the oil was not reaching it properly. Later when we sailed and filled up the after peak tanks, we got all our oil back to the right level. Thus, be careful, negotiate but dont always think negative about the bunker man. People say, write a note of protest. I have seen many notes in the files but have never written one till date. I am not saying it is useless, but it is always better to negotiate and arrive at a figure to appear on the BDN and to finish the matter then and there. Many times the bunker man has agreed to put my figure (reduced) on BDN. 11. Keep the legible copy of the bunker
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delivery note safely and give one copy to Master. (One

copy is sent along with the sample to the Lab. Keep a copy of BDN with it and Material safety data sheet in outer pouch.) 12. Be prepared for any kind of oil spill drill.

spill. Before bunkering, check SOPEP room and carry out an oil

Once at Vancouver, we took bunker at night and in the morning when the sun came up, the snow started melting, filling our bunker tray and coamings on deck (scuppers plugged), and posed a threat of oil spill. We opened tally office on the main deck (no drains in this space) and along with the crew and Chief mate, scooped the excess oil into this room. Keep the overflow tank air pipe head always eased and greased. You can let go the spilled material via this opening. On one ship I found a plug provided at the bottom of the bunker manifold tray with a handle up to the top of the tray. This was provided so that it can be opened and the content can go to overflow tank. The idea is that we should give a thought to any such eventuality. 13. Last but not the least; communicate

extensively with all the team members (use

your legs as well for communication by actually going to sounding man on deck and discussing your plan with him besides giving him a soft drink). Re-Check everything before, during, and after bunkering and you will never go wrong at this crucial ship operation.

How to select Marine Fuel Oil and Factors Necessary for Fuel Oil System on Merchant Ships
Maritime Transport utilises lowest grade of fuel to run its propelling plant. This is one of the reasons which make it the cheapest mode for transporting goods to different countries. However, by using such low grade fuel, eco system can be severely damaged from harmful exhaust of the ships. To reduce such causes of pollution, several guidelines are made which helps in reducing emissionfrom the ship as well as offer ways to make the process of running the massive main propulsion plant and other auxiliary services on board ship more economical.

Marine fuel oils used for merchant ships are selected as per the requirements laid down by the regulation authority under MARPOL and according to the area where the ship usually functions. On the basis of these factors, along with several others, marine fuel oil and fuel oil system selection is done. On what basis is Marine Fuel Oil Selection done? If the fuel is derived from petroleum process then it should be a blend of hydro carbons derived from refining and it may contain additives. The fuel oil should be free from inorganic acids It should not exceed NOx as required by the regulation in MARPOL Annex VI It shall not exceed sulphur content more than 4.5% globally and 1.0% for special areas Flash point of the fuel used onboard ship must be at least 60 C For fuel used in emergency generator, lifeboat and other emergency appliance flash point must be at least 43 C

Factors Necessary for a Fuel System Installation and working

All fuel tanks except double bottom tanks must be outside Category A machinery space of the ship The biggest fuel bunker tank on ship should have maximum capacity not more than 2000m The entire fuel oil tank within machinery spaces must be provided with quick closing valve operational from remote position.
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Fuel tank sounding pipe inside the engine room must be fitted with self closing device Vent must be provided to all tanks to prevent over pressurising High Level alarms must be fitted in all fuel oil tanks to avoid oil spill Pipes used for fuel oil must be of steel and as per the required pressure of the system Stop valve provided on inlet and outlet of fuel oil filters and pumps Material for valves used in fuel system is steel or spheroid cast iron All high temperature pipes are covered with heat retardant lagging

All high pressure pipe used in injection system must be double jacketed or double walled type