Marine fuels testing company VPS on Tuesday (1 July) announced the opening of its brand new testing laboratory in Shanghai, China.

The company said this strategic investment strengthens VPS’ global laboratory network and reinforces the company’s commitment to delivering faster, locally-based testing services to customers operating in one of the world’s most important maritime markets. 

“Shanghai has emerged as one of the fastest growing marine bunkering hubs and is expected to play a major role in the future supply of both traditional fossil fuels and emerging low-to-zero carbon fuels,” it said in a statement. 

“The new Shanghai laboratory will provide comprehensive marine fuel testing services, enabling customers to benefit from further improved turnaround times and enhanced operational decision making.”

The facility will support vessel owners, operators, charterers and fuel suppliers, with rapid, independent analysis and technical expertise, helping stakeholders to manage fuel quality risks, protect assets and maintain regulatory compliance.

Dr. Malcolm Cooper, CEO at VPS, said: “VPS is pleased to announce the opening of our new Shanghai Laboratory, which will provide fuel quality testing for bunker fuels including methanol. China is central to the global shipping industry being the world’s largest shipbuilder, producer of shipping containers and operator of the biggest commercial fleet. Shanghai is therefore the perfect home for our latest laboratory, as VPS is the world’s leading fuel testing company”.

The investment comes as marine fuel volumes in Chinese ports continue to grow and customers increasingly demand faster testing and advisory services. The new facility further enhances the VPS global footprint, which already includes laboratories in Rotterdam, Singapore, Fujairah, Houston and Manchester, supported by an international team of technical experts, sales professionals and customer service specialists.

In addition to supporting conventional marine fuels, the Shanghai laboratory will provide testing and advisory services relevant to the industry’s growing adoption of low-to-zero carbon fuels, assisting customers to navigate emerging fuel quality performance and compliance challenges.

Andrew Morton, VPS MD-AMEA, stated: “The opening of our new laboratory in Shanghai’s Lingang New Area, positions VPS at the heart of one of China’s most important maritime and industrial growth hubs. This investment reflects our confidence in the Chinese maritime market, our commitment to supporting customers closer to where they operate and our belief that Asia will remain at the forefront of shipping’s energy transition.”

The Shanghai laboratory will serve both domestic and international customers operating throughout China and across the wider Asia-Pacific region, supporting ongoing growth in marine fuel testing demand and providing a platform for future expansion of VPS services within the Chinese maritime sector.

Photo credit: VPS
Published: 1 July, 2026

Thomas Schmidt, Customer Account Manager of marine fuels testing company VPS, on Monday (18 May) highlighted how the company’s rapid, high quality marine fuel quality testing service continue to support the global shipping fleet, through a global network of strategically positioned laboratories, on-line logistics service and over 45 years of experience:

In today’s rapidly evolving marine fuel landscape, fast turnaround times for bunker fuel analysis have never been more critical.

Stricter environmental regulations and wider use of alternative fuels has generated increasingly complex marine fuel types and chemistries. In combination with volatile global supply chains and ongoing geopolitical instability, the need for ship operators and technical managers to have rapid and reliable fuel quality intelligence is increasingly important to protect their vessels, crew, operations, and commercial interests.

Following the introduction of IMO 2020, followed by further global and regional environmental legislation geared towards IMO2030/50, there has been a continuous development of lower-sulphur and low-carbon marine fuels, resulting in fuel quality variability across the global bunker market. Different blend components, cutter stocks, additives and bio-components can result in highly variable fuel behaviour and operational compatibility challenges.

At the same time, geopolitical developments continue to reshape global energy and bunker supply chains. Traditional product flows and refinery sourcing routes are changing, creating additional uncertainty around bunker fuel composition and quality consistency. Notably in 2026, the off-specification rate of fuels to relevant ISO8217 standards increased to 8.5%, from 6.8% during 2025.

Against this backdrop, timely fuel quality testing by an accredited laboratory is essential and remains one of the most effective tools available to ship operators, as advised by all major P&I Clubs. This helps to mitigate operational and financial risk by validating against ISO8217 specifications and providing operational guidance to onboard crew for effective handing and use.

Importance of Speedy Results

Fast turnaround time is critical for several reasons:

• To assess fuel quality before the fuel is fully consumed onboard. Current fuel off-specification levels are 8.5% i.e. one in every twelve fuels has at least one off-specification parameter.
• To identify potentially problematic fuels at an early stage.
• Support fuel segregation, purification, compatibility and handling decisions.
• Preserve contractual and claim-related rights, including applicable notification and potential time-bar requirements.
• To reduce the risk of machinery damage, operational interruptions, delays, off-hire situations and costly troubleshooting cases. The Swedish P&I Club stated the average cost of a single marine fuel-related issue is >$330K.

The total turnaround time of a bunker sample is driven by a number of processes beginning with fuel delivery to the vessel and involves multiple critical stages:

1.   Ensuring the taking of a representative fuel sample, (via a VPS manual drip sampler fitted at the vessel manifold).
2.   Transfer of the sample to the local agent.
3.   Sample Transfer via Courier to the laboratory.
4.   Sample registration and laboratory analysis according to ISO8217 and additional testing requirements.
5.   Technical review, interpretation and operational advice.
6.   Report test results and advisory comments.

In many cases, the transportation phase alone may consume several days before the sample even arrives at the laboratory. 

How VPS Ensures Faster Turnaround Times

VPS has developed a fully integrated global fuel testing and advisory infrastructure, which currently boasts 93% of samples are reported within one working day from receipt in the laboratory.

SampLogic – Accelerating Sample Logistics to speed up transfer of sample to Lab

The VPS SampLogic platform is an online logistics and tracking solution designed specifically for marine fuel sample transportation, which is free for VPS customers and can save at least one full day on sample transportation. VPS Samplogic

SampLogic enables:

• Online booking of bunker sample collection.
• Automated generation of shipping documentation.
• Shipment tracking and milestone visibility.
• Faster coordination between vessel, agent, courier and laboratory.
• By reducing manual processes and improving shipment transparency, SampLogic helps minimise transportation delays and accelerates the overall testing process.

Strategic Global Laboratory Network

VPS operates a global network of wholly-owned, ISO17025 accredited, marine fuel testing laboratories strategically located across the world’s major bunkering hubs in order to support the needs of our shipping customers.

The laboratories positioning further reduces sample transfer times whilst also providing important operational resilience and redundancy. During periods of geopolitical disruption, natural disasters, strikes or unexpected regional events, samples can be redirected within the VPS laboratory network to maintain continuity and avoid delays.

Technical Advisory Support

Analytical results alone are not sufficient in terms of assessing fuel-related operational requirements, fuel management and handling, or environmental compliance. It is the expert and experienced interpretation and advisory guidance which is where the major added-value is delivered to vessels from any fuel testing service.

VPS technical advisors and marine engineers located across the global laboratory network support customers with:

• Troubleshooting.
• Fuel management recommendations.
• Risk assessments.
• Operational guidance.
• Dispute and claims support.

Where urgent fuel quality concerns are identified, VPS technical teams proactively contact customers to support immediate operational decision-making, with samples and results able to be progressed at pace, with VPS having supported numerous vessels in providing urgent results in the same working day to meet operational needs.

24/7 Digital Access Through VeriSphere

Through the VPS VeriSphere digital ecosystem, customers have continuous access to:

• Analytical reports
• Fuel quality trends
• Historical fuel data
• Market intelligence
• Digital fuel management tools
• Operational insights

This provides technical managers and vessel operators with rapid access to critical information anytime and anywhere.

In addition, the unique VPS PortStats, MyFuels and MySeparators, on-line applications within Verisphere, can provide deeper insights into global and regional fuel quality and key procurement indicators, plus operational and purifier performance improvements.

Conclusion

In the current climate, bunker fuel analysis is no longer simply a compliance exercise – it is an essential operational and procurement risk management tool.

As marine fuels continue to evolve and global supply chains become increasingly dynamic and unpredictable, rapid and reliable fuel quality intelligence is critical to protecting vessels, machinery, operations and commercial performance.

Minimising the total turnaround time from bunker sampling through to technical advisory support is therefore essential. Through its integrated logistics systems, strategic laboratory network, technical expertise and digital solutions, VPS continues to support the industry with fast, resilient and operationally focused fuel quality services.

Photo credit: VPS
Published: 19 May, 2026

Bunker trading and fuel management services firm Integr8 Fuels on Thursday (7 May) published a new report looking at how recent shifts in oil market fundamentals and trade flows are beginning to show up in bunker fuel quality trends. 

While recent headlines have focused on price volatility driven by geopolitical disruption, the report highlighted that the impact is also increasingly visible in the physical characteristics of marine fuels across key bunkering hubs.

The analysis noted a series of recent quality alerts in Singapore, including the continued appearance of fuel samples linked to non-traditional blend components. Although no single event indicates a systemic quality issue, the combination of tighter markets and evolving blending practices is increasing variability in fuel quality and behaviour.

The full report covers:

• How oil market tightening is influencing bunker fuel quality
• Recent developments compared to past events in Singapore (2022) and Houston (2018)
• The role of shifting crude flows and blending economics
• Key parameters to watch, including ash, metals, density, and stability

Note: The full article can be viewed here. 

Photo credit: Integr8 Fuels
Published: 8 May, 2026