⚓ When “Fuel on Paper” Is Not Fuel in Reality

⚓ When “Fuel on Paper” Is Not Fuel in Reality

A Quiet VLSFO Lesson Every Shipping Professional Must Understand

🌊 Introduction: The Pressure No One Sees

Some of the toughest decisions in shipping are not made during heavy weather or emergency maneuvers.
They are made quietly—over emails, ROB figures, tank soundings, and bunker plans.

On paper, everything may look correct.
In reality, one wrong fuel decision can put an entire voyage at risk.

If you have ever worried about fuel not because it is insufficient, but because it is unusable, this lesson is for you.
This is not about arguments with charterers.
This is about responsibility, judgment, and protecting the ship—especially in the age of VLSFO.

 

1️⃣ “Just Transfer It” — When Logic Looks Right but Reality Says No ⚓

The proposal often sounds reasonable:

Transfer fuel from a large tank into smaller tanks.
Create space.
Take fresh bunkers.
Problem solved.

From a distance, it makes commercial sense. From the deck plates, it doesn’t.

When a sub-charterer says,
“If we can bunker with 16 MT already in one tank, why not do the same everywhere?”
they are looking at numbers—not behavior.

Fuel tanks are not spreadsheets.
They have geometry, suction limits, trim sensitivity, and memory of past fuel.

What looks like space created is often just risk relocated—from one tank to many.

A Master does not manage fuel by optimism.
He manages it by how it actually behaves at sea.

#ShipOpsInsights #BunkerPlanning #ShipCommand #OperationalReality

 

2️⃣ Unpumpable Fuel: When ROB Exists but Power Doesn’t 🚢

This is one of the most misunderstood realities onboard.

Unpumpable fuel is fuel that exists physically but not operationally.
It sits below the suction bellmouth.
Trim won’t help. Pumps won’t reach it.
It is there—but it is dead.

So when someone says,
“There is 16 MT ROB in the tank,”
the experienced mariner asks,
“How much of that can actually feed the engine?”

In No.2 FOT (P), with a trim of around 0.5 m, suction is lost.
The remaining 16–18 MT is not a reserve—it is ballast in disguise.

History proves it.
Different ports. Different months. Same outcome.

Fuel does not argue.
It simply refuses to move.

Understanding this distinction separates paper management from real seamanship.

#ShipOpsInsights #FuelManagement #MarineEngineering #Seamanship

 

3️⃣ The Hidden Danger of VLSFO Commingling 🧭

With VLSFO, fuel is no longer just fuel.
It is chemistry.

Different ports supply different blends.
Different blends don’t always like each other.

Leaving 37 MT in a large tank and adding fresh VLSFO may look harmless.
In reality, it can trigger sludge, purifier overload, filter choking, and fuel starvation.

This is not theory.
This is experience—shared quietly among engineers and Masters after long nights.

The real danger is not one bad tank.
It is multiple commingled tanks, each becoming a possible failure point.

Once instability enters the system, it spreads fast.
And when the engine stops, explanations come too late.

Good fuel practice is not aggressive.
It is conservative—and intentional.

#ShipOpsInsights #VLSFO #FuelSafety #ShipReliability

 

4️⃣ The Quiet Weight of Command Responsibility 📊

Charterers may instruct.
Schedules may pressure.
Emails may insist.

But when the engine stops, it is not the email that answers—it is the Master.

“I may be ordered to bunker,”
but
“I am responsible if the engine fails.”

That sentence defines command.

Good Masters are not difficult.
They are deliberate.

They accept unavoidable limitations—but reject avoidable risk.
They document concerns—not to argue, but to protect the ship.

This is leadership without noise.
Judgment without ego.
Experience speaking softly—but firmly.

#ShipOpsInsights #MaritimeLeadership #MasterMariner #CommandResponsibility

 

⚓ Final Thought: This Is How Ships Stay Safe

Shipping is not run by perfect conditions.
It is run by decisions made under pressure.

If this situation felt familiar, it means you’ve been there too—onboard or ashore.

👍 Like if you’ve faced fuel decisions that looked simple but weren’t
💬 Share your experience—what would you have done?
🔁 Pass this on to a colleague who deals with bunkers and responsibility
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Because the best lessons in shipping are rarely shouted.
They are shared quietly—by those who’ve carried the responsibility.

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