The Club has recently experienced an increase in claim notifications relating to the supply and consumption of poor quality fuel. This Circular acts as a reminder of the need to follow industry guidelines and best practice in all bunkering operations and of the main issues to consider in bunker quality claims. In particular, the Club makes the following comments and recommendations:
Background
Owners and charterers continue to face difficult market conditions and savings in bunker prices can have a significant impact on the profitability of their ventures. At the same time we have seen instances of suppliers blending poor quality oil products together, resulting in lower overall quality bunkers, to try and meet the demand for cheaper bunkers. Coupled with the stricter provisions that are to be seen in charter party terms, requiring fuels to comply with strict ISO specifications and being fit for safe consumption, it was perhaps inevitable that the frequency of claims – both by purchasers against bunker suppliers and by owners against charterers responsible for stemming suitable bunkers – would increase as the search to minimise costs continues.
See attached file: Bunker Quality Claims.pdf
燃油质量索赔
近期，协会接到越来越多有关劣质燃油供应和消耗的索赔通知。希望通过本文提醒会员注意，所有燃油作业遵循行业指导和最佳实践的必要性，以及燃油质量索赔中需要考虑的主要问题。协会评论和建议如下：
背景
船东和租家持续面临萧条的市场条件，降低燃油费用对企业盈利有显著的影响。同时，协会也发现燃油供应商混入劣质成品油，降低燃油整体质量，从而满足市场对低价燃油的需求。另外，租约关于燃油质量的条款较为严格，要求燃油符合严格的ISO规范且适于安全消耗。当人们不断追求成本最小化时，不可避免地会提高索赔率，包括买方向燃油供应商索赔以及船东向租家提出加载适当燃油责任的索赔。
详细信息请参阅附件。
