Code 26 - entries for bunkering

H-26.4 - Bunkering (PS - Click on the images for a larger view)

Whenever a vessel bunkers fuel or bulk lubricating oil, an entry should be made in the ORB. The requirement of what should be entered, usually reproduced in the initial pages of many Oil record books (I know for sure about flags of Hong Kong, Liberia, Panama and Marshall islands), is given below -

Now look at the ORB page of this ship I inspected in Los Angeles. Do you notice anything wrong?

Yes - you got it. Under 26.4 , quantities are required in tonnes - while those given are in - you guessed right, cubic metres.


Some Chief Engineers have asked me how should they know the quantity in tonnes - all receipts are given in cubic metres (or gallons, in USA). Simple - check out the data sheets, which given you the density. You need not apply temperature corrections, since the difference is very small. Some Chief Engineers preced it with "approx." which is also acceptable.




The problem .....

You may say - these are minor errors and do not mean the vessel is indulging in a marpol violation. True... and any DA would respect that. Trouble is (from a seafarer's point of view):

a) It makes the seafarer look bad in front of an outsider (like me) - be it USCG, PSC, a vetting inspector

b) It embarrasses the Master. Most Masters have little knowledge of ORB though that is slowly changing) and it worries them when the PSC inspector says - "Captain, there are some discrepancies in your ORB." Omigosh... in a flash of a second, images of magic pipes, violations, courts and jails whiz past his mind - for that is the scare we have given him, without tools to understand it.

c) Though not often in the United states, my brethren tell me these are common notes made in Port state control inspection finding sheets in a number of countries. Once there - it will always remain on records for eternity (esp. on pages like www.equasis.org)

d) Vetting inspectors love this entry. Now that Rightship has commenced similar inspections on bulk carriers (for the past abut 2 years) , you can be sure they too will be looking for it.

While on the topic, here are a few more common errors under H-26 -

1) Entry for diesel oil bunkered
- Many engineers forget to fill this in

2) Entry for lubricating oil - when received in drums
- Many Engineers erroneously enter this too. Entries for Lub oil are only needed when in BULK - NOT WHEN RECEIVED IN DRUMS.

3) Type of Lubricating oil (26.4)
- Many engineers only write the quantity, but not the type (eg: Mobil M-430)
- Note : You need not write the type of fuel oil (26.3), but it is not a bad idea to do so... if not for anything else, then for the sake of the next engineer who would find this a good quick to find record.

4) Colour of pen
- Always write your record book in BLACK pen - it will help you. Not blue, definitely not pencil. Reason - It irritates my friends in the EPA and Fish & game department, when they find all their copies of ORB pages difficult (imposible?!) to read- just because some jerk wrote it in light blue colour. Black comes up well in photocopies, optical readers and scanners.

- Though it was an old ISO requirement that signatures should be in blue (to distinguish between a photocopy and original), today's forensics have other ways of finding this out. With the advent of coour photocopiers and scanners, this requirement is not very valid today.

And trust me - you really don't wanna irritate some of those EPA gentlemen and ladies.


By the way... in the above example, in all fairness, there are some factors which WOULD FAVOUR the seafarer -



1) Entries are neat... - it makes a fantastic first impression - and impressions do matter. (Some of my friends say...."only impressions matter" ... but lets have that argument some other day!)
2) They are detailed (notice 26.1 - place of berthing - complete details of the berth - not just the port)
3) 26.4 too has detailed entries viz. the tanks, purpose, etc.

(2) and (3) show sincerity... something every lawyer true to his salt tries his best to convince the judge and jury of in a court of law (if you have been unfortunate enough to reach there!). It makes the "litres" mistake appear just like an "error" and not a "wilful omission".




While on it, you must have noticed the over-writing... looks bad when presented as evidence.