Singaporean authorities have launched an investigation into contaminated high sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) sold by two bunker suppliers after 34 ships were hit by off-spec fuel in February and March according to fuel testing company Veritas Petroleum Services, says an article published in Splash 247.
Poor fuel quality
The names of the two suppliers in question have not been revealed. Roughly half of the ships that reported off-spec fuel also lost power.
Splash first reported on the contaminated fuel issue in Singapore, the world’s largest bunkering hub, on March 9 including details of a number of ships losing power as a result of the poor fuel quality.
Cause of concern
P&I club Skuld revealed in a recent update that over the past fortnight it has received an increased number of P&I and hull claims related to HSFO stemmed at Singapore and which were found to be contaminated with chlorinated compounds resulting in damage to fuel injection pumps, injectors, filter elements and purifier systems.
“Organic Chlorides are not naturally present in crude sources and their presence in marine fuels is a cause of concern,” Skuld stated.
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Source: Splash 247
