Bunker measuring systems have been made obligatory in Antwerp, Zeebrugge, and Rotterdam

To measure the accurate amount of fuel onboard bunker vessels, the Antwerp-Bruges Port Authority and Port of Rotterdam Authority have made it necessary to use a bunker measuring system. With this system in place, the port authorities aim to make the ARA bunker market transparent, efficient, and stable.

The authorities are on the lookout for a suitable bunker measuring system, and once done they have plans to apply the measuring system on board bunkering vessels into force in Antwerp, Zeebrugge, and Rotterdam very well knowing that the measure will have a major impact on the bunker market. As of now, around 40 vessels out of 170 in Rotterdam, Antwerp, and Zeebrugge are equipped with a bunker measuring system.

The authority says that a bunker measuring system will bring efficiency as data from transactions can be read digitally and processed in the book instantly. The port of Antwerp-Bruges and the Port of Rotterdam is informed about having bunker-related problems, hence these ports have requested independent research to look into the parties involved in the bunker market and found a lot of similarities between both the ports.

65% of stakeholders quizzed and over 90% of survey respondents see the introduction of the compulsory use of an official bunker measuring system on board bunker vessels as a key to quantity problems. A bunker measuring system measures the quantity of fuel delivered in real-time rather than calculating it from tank level measurements on board the bunker vessel. The Harbour Master of Rotterdam and the Harbour Master of Antwerp-Bruges have joined together and working on introducing a uniform requirement for a bunker measuring system and this will be done in consultation with Belgian and Dutch stakeholders.