Thousands of dollars can be saved per vessel, per year, by utilising the skills of an independent Bunker Quantity Surveyor. Peter van den Boomgaard, BQS Business Development Manager and Steve Bee, Group Marketing Director of marine fuels testing company VPS, explain how in their latest article:

Marine bunker fuel purchases are mostly made between a vessel operator and a fuel supplier, whilst the vessel is in a port hundreds, or thousands, of miles away from its company offices.

Whilst each bunker delivery has an average cost of $1million, the purchaser is not present when the fuel is delivered to the ship. For this reason, the best mitigation strategy is the employment of an independent Bunker Quantity Surveyor, to ensure the correct amount of fuel is delivered to the vessel, in line with the contractual supply agreement.

As the pioneers of the Bunker Quantity Survey (BQS) service back in 1987, VPS have performed almost 200,000 surveys across the world’s ports, using knowledgeable, impartial, independent Surveyors, who carry out their work according to the detailed VPS Code of Practice.

A recent investigation covering 10,000 surveys, showed by using a VPS surveyor, a single vessel can now potentially save up to $145K per year, by checking density shortages, measurements, temperatures, draining bunker lines and remaining onboard fuel (zero soundings) when the bunker tanker supposed to be empty. By using a VPS Surveyor, a customer can mitigate risk and delivery tricks, ultimately receiving the correct quantity and quality of fuel and avoid lengthy claims processes.

The Bunker Quantity shortage risk potential for any bunker fuel delivery can occur for various reasons which may be categorized as follows:

1. The Ordered Quantity & the Bunker Delivery Note quantity was different.
2. The Bunker Tanker delivered quantity & Bunker Delivery Note quantity was different.
3. The Bunker Tanker delivered quantity & the Vessel’s received quantity was different.
4. The Bunker Tanker delivered quantity fuel density was different from the Vessel’s received fuel density.
5. The ROB quantity on the vessel as measured by the Bunker Surveyor was different from  that declared by the vessel’s staff.

Since bunkers are sold by weight but delivered in volume, the presence of a professional bunker Surveyor is needed to ensure that the correct quantity is delivered. A thorough and experienced Surveyor prevents fraudulent behaviours and the employment of “tricks of the trade”, which can result in short deliveries of fuel. Plus an inclusive investigation to determine the remaining on-board fuel levels, supports finding hidden bunkers as well as the investigation of shortages or alleged “cappuccino” practices, during bunkering operations. The Surveyor will also offer a helping hand with inconsistency, or errors on the BDN and advise the vessel’s staff accordingly assisting in quantity dispute resolution.

VPS Surveyors are all equipped with professional, calibrated measuring tools and are often seen by the Chief Engineer as a valued support. The Surveyor will advise the Chief Engineer with any safety checklist, custom papers and papers provided by the supplier, such as a bunker requisition and sample labels and special requirements from the customer.

It is the Surveyor who supervises the whole bunker operation, making sure the bunker hoses are in a good condition and whether they are well supported in accordance with relevant international standards. The Surveyor will also assist in effective communication between the bunker tanker and the vessel, to enable immediate shutdown if this should be necessary.

Another responsibility undertaken by a Surveyor is the taking of representative samples by drip method. This is done preferably at the vessel’s manifold (point of custody transfer). This sample has to be collected and witnessed during the entire bunker operation and the content should be properly mixed and poured into the bottles when the bunker operation is finished. The bottles have to be labelled, sealed and distributed between all parties concerned. The presence of the VPS Bunker Surveyor, throughout the entire fuel delivery, can therefore ensure that the sampling process is closely monitored, and internationally accepted survey & sampling standards are followed, in line with SS 600:2022 Code of practice for bunkering, SS 648:2024 Code of practice for bunker mass flow metering, ISO 13739:Petroleum Products‐ Procedures for the transfer of bunker to vessels(Second Edition 2020‐02) & the VPS Bunker Quantity Survey Code of Practice 2019.

This will correct any incorrect bunkering practice & ensure that a truly representative sample at custody transfer is taken & documented to give the highest likelihood of successful claims handling.

Note: The full article by VPS can be found here. 

Photo credit: VPS
Published: 5 August, 2025