Off-specification bunkers under a time charter
Who bears the cost when charterer-supplied fuel fails its specification, and the line between fuel that was off-spec as supplied and damage from the ship's own treatment.
Under a time charter the charterer supplies and pays for the bunkers, so the risk of a fuel that fails its specification starts with the charterer. The charter normally warrants that bunkers supplied will meet a stated specification, commonly by reference to an ISO 8217 grade, and the owner’s remedies are the right to reject the stem, the right to claim for damage caused, and in a serious case the right to refuse the employment order that requires the ship to burn it.
The line that decides most disputes is between a fuel that was off specification when supplied, which is the charterer’s problem, and damage caused by the ship’s own treatment of an on-specification fuel, which is the owner’s. Purifier settings, tank management, commingling with an incompatible previous stem and heating regime all fall on the owner’s side, and a charterer defending a claim will normally start there.
The evidential centre of the dispute is the MARPOL sample and the sampling chain, and a claim frequently fails on sampling rather than on chemistry. The full article will cover the specification warranty and its usual wording, the rejection right and how quickly it must be exercised, commingling and compatibility, the treatment of off-hire while the fuel is being changed out, and the interaction with the bunker supplier’s own terms, which the charterer contracts on and the owner does not.