Fuel Quality Testing provides peace of mind from knowing the delivered bunker quality before use and assists manage the risk of potential damage to machinery and the consequential threat to the safety of crew and cargo.
What if contaminated bunkers cause massive engine damage and your vessel stalls in a rough storm? Would this not threaten the safety of crew and cargo onboard?
At DNVPS, we understand your concerns about bunker quality. As the industry's pioneer in marine fuel analysis, we introduced the concept of testing bunker purchases in 1980, at a time when deteriorating bunker quality and escalating fuel prices were giving ship operators massive problems. Today, bunker quality has not improved and is in fact showing signs of further decline due to increased secondary refining activities.
With fuel prices continuing on the upward trend, the DNV FQT programme has become indispensable to major ship operators, helping them determine if their vessels have received the quality of bunkers paid for. More importantly, this service safeguards their vessels' engines from damage by poor quality bunkers.
The DNV FQT service chain involves:
Collection of a representative fuel sample
A representative sample is collected from your vessel’s fuel manifold during the bunker delivery.Transportation of the fuel sample
The collected fuel sample is stored in a DNVPS sampling bottle and air-freighted in an IATA-approved courier box. Please refer to the DNV Fuel Quality Testing Instructions Manual for detailed sample transportation instruction or contact the nearest DNVPS regional office for assistance.
Laboratory testing of the fuel sample
As soon as your sample arrives at any of our five laboratories, we will begin the fuel analysis according to current ISO 8217 requirements, completing the full battery of tests within 24 hours. Click here for ISO 8217: 2010 specifications.
Technical advisory and release of the FQT results
Before release, the test results are evaluated by our technical experts who will determine if the fuel has met the required standards and provide you with fuel handling advice for optimal bunker performance.
Should there be urgent issues on the quality of your fuel, DNVPS technical advisers will contact you personally.
Once the results are vetted, they will be disseminated via electronic mail and facsimile. The data will also be routed to DataAccess, our online service, which lets you download test results any time at the touch of a button. You can even retrieve historical data of samples tested as far back as two years ago.
The DNV FQT programme today has a membership base of 11,000 vessels and is currently the largest of its kind in the market. Like the 900 companies enrolled in this programme, you’ll benefit from our international network of fuel experts and laboratories, which guarantees prompt and reliable fuel management services across all time zones, 24 hours a day.
Sign up for our testing programme and enjoy peace of mind from knowing the quality of your bunker purchase before use. Contact the DNVPS office nearest to you today.