Success for new bunkering metering system

Nautical Control Solutions (NCS) announced today that Buffalo Marine Service of Houston in Texas successfully tested its FuelTrax bunkering system on a delivery of 1500 tonnes of IFO 500 to the container ship Maersk Wyoming.

The test took place last month at the Port of Houston where the crew of Buffalo 401k pumped at the rate of 250 tonnes per hour, with accuracy measured to less than 0.1% between the barge and the ship. Accuracy was verified by Maersk Wyoming?s own in-line mass flow meter.

“This is an industry changing event,” said Anthony George, CEO of NCS. “This highly accurate way of measuring and reporting fuel transfers takes away the uncertainty in selling and purchasing marine fuels. As consumers, we expect accuracy when fueling our automobiles, but the marine industry has had to make do with manual dipping of tanks and volume-to-mass conversion calculations that introduce error. Not anymore. Ship owners can now expect to receive what they pay for at the pump”.

The FuelTrax-based system provides real-time measurement of bunker deliveries irrespective of product type, viscosity, or temperature. More importantly, the system will accurately measure barrels and tons regardless of whether there is air, fuel, or both in the piping system.

Utilizing a Micro Motion Coriolis-type meter from Emerson, mass, volume, density, and temperature readings were displayed simultaneously on a user-friendly touch-screen monitor aboard Buffalo Marine?s San Joaquin, a 23 m tug that pushes Buffalo 401k. When all the fuel had been delivered, the crew of San Joaquin touched the “print” button on the screen, the bunker delivery receipt was printed, and the event was completed.