In 2010, had two incidents with Cappuccino bunker supplies in Singapore which caused a substantial shortage of total quantity

received by CE, compared to the original nominated quantity of 3,000MT & 700MT. The shortages were 87 MT & 97MT respectively. This was due to substantial air-ingress (deliberate or unintentional), the resultant delivery of bunkers was with a high head of froth thus giving the CE a false reading of complete supply. Recommended precautions (in conjunction with TSM Bunker Operations Manual PR 458 and the SS Bunker code 600):Gauge the barge tanks:1. CE must request for and ensure that our ships engineer gauges & records the temperatures of the bunker barges tanks before and after bunkering. 2. This must be done even if an independent Bunker Surveyor has been appointed. (In case of a dispute, the 3rd party Bunker Surveyor will not be held responsible & the entire responsibility will be solely the ship CEs). 3. Even empty tanks and slop tanks must be sounded. 4. Ullaging is preferred since there may be sludge at the bottom of the sounding pipe. 5. Upon completion of bunkering, ullages of all tanks on both vessels must be again recorded. 6. The ships soundings alone are not to be taken as final. Checking the barges tanks ensures that other tanks containing contaminants have not been pumped to our vessel. 7. Ensure safe access so that there is no excuse for either party not to visit each others vessel. Air blow in the opening meeting prior bunkering:1. Clarify if any stripping will be done. As far as possible, do not accept any stripping operation in the middle of bulk supply. 2. Bunker barge will normally blow air only at the end of bunkering operations, which is acceptable for removal of all remnants of oil from the hose. 3. Inform Supplier, prior to delivery, that air blow is only allowed at the end of the bunkering by the method as stipulated in the Singapore Standard. Be Alert during bunkering and be alert for the following signs:1. Bunker hose jerking or whipping around. 2. Gurgling sound when standing in vicinity of bunker manifold. 3. Fluctuations of pressure indication on manifold pressure gauge. 4. Fluctuations of level indication gauge of bunker tank (if fitted).

Coping with Cappuccino Bunkers

By Ashutosh Rao, Fleet Group Manager Technical News Cappuccino effect
5. Excessive bubbles observed on the sounding tape while taking sounding of bunkers. If any of above is observed, please ask the barge Master to stop such operations immediately and if it continues, contact

your Technical Superintendent. The Technical Superintendent in coordination with Charterer / Owner will likely request for an investigation by an independent Bunker Surveyor. Do not disclose the received quantity to the barge officer or to any independent Surveyor till all final calculations are completed. Superintendent will then advise Master about further course of action. Unless a clear confirmation of the received quantity is reached, do not sign the BDN. This is because it is difficult to pursue the dispute if the figure on BDN shows the complete quantity entered as received. Please only enter ACTUAL received quantity by ship and sign for this. When in doubt: Allow about 2-3 hrs, between initial and 2nd ullaging. There will be a trend in change of ullage which will give a clear indication of bunkers settling down as the bubbles are dispersed to vent. If air entrapment is suspected, please advise Master immediately that vessel will need to wait 2 to 3 hours to reconfirm the quantities received. Master will contact Superintendent and Charterer to confirm the waiting of the ship. For a quick confirmation if air bubbles are present, please open the bunker tank manhole and lower a 20 liter bucket to take sample from the top, the froth will be clearly visible in the sample. The difference in liquid and froth can be visually confirmed by pouring into a transparent glass bottle. In a deep tank, the froth level can be up to 1 meter. Get the ROB checked by a Quantity Surveyor immediately after the bunkering and again after sufficient time allocated for the settlement of bubbles in the tanks.