Understanding fuel quality testing, specifications, and management.
5 articles
The sample was collected correctly. But the chain of custody had one gap. That gap cost them the dispute—and $120,000 in engine repairs.
The Certificate of Quality showed 45 mg/kg. The actual fuel had 85 mg/kg. When clarifier was bypassed to speed delivery, nobody noticed until catastrophic failure.
The fuel looked clear. The engine ran fine. But microscopic water droplets were destroying injectors. By the time they found it, the damage was done.
The alarm was disabled to 'prevent false alerts'. The sounding tape wasn't checked. When the tank overflowed, 50,000 liters ended up on deck and in the water.
The chief engineer added a combustion improver to reduce exhaust smoke. But the additive wasn't compatible with their fuel purifier system. The result: injector fouling and $30K in repairs.