Demand for mass flow metering remains low
Customer demand for the use of coriolis mass flow metering during bunker deliveries remains low despite rising bunker prices and the increased accuracy offered by the technology, Houston based barging company Buffalo Marine Services Inc. (Buffalo Marine) has told Ship & Bunker.
Maersk are the only company who routinely asks for the technology to be used for IFO bunker deliveries, it said, while about half of customers taking deliveries of the more expensive distillate product want the meter to be used.
"People just don't believe the meters are inherently as accurate as they are, and think they need to be re-calibrated and certified every year, when they don't," a spokesperson at the company commented, who believes part of the problem is a lack of understanding about how the technology works.
Improved Accuracy
Buffalo Marine, who started using coriolis mass flow metering in 2009, says that in practice it has found the meters provide much improved accuracy over more traditional methods of gauging bunker volume.
Another accuracy problem is introduced when making temperature conversions for volume, and unless the thermometer is placed deep into the tank then only the surface temperature is read, which it said can cause as much as a 1 percent difference in the calculated volume.
Buffalo Marine, who uses the meters to ensure accuracy, said it is not uncommon to have a discrepancy of a few tonnes between the coriolis mass flow meters and less accurate metering but, "after we tell them we've used the meter they're ok with that."
Short deliveries can prove costly for ship operators, and with the price of bunkers rising, as well as the August 1, 2012 introduction of the North American Emissions Control Area (ECA) mandating the use of more expensive fuel with a lower sulfur content in coastal waters, the company said it expects the need for accuracy to increase, and so will the demand for the coriolis technology. "Something has to be done," it said.
Last month Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said it wants more bunker players to adopt mass flow meters for bunkering and wants to develop a Singapore Standard for Mass Flow Metering System in the future.