The Port Authority in Rotterdam plans to make the use of mass-flow gauges for bunker supplies in the Dutch port airport in the near future. The news agency said the report was welcomed by the International Bunker Industry Association (IBIA), the association representing naval fuel suppliers, who have expressed their absolute support for the use of such technology to be made compulsory not only in Rotterdam, but in all ports in the Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Antwerp region as well as in the other global hub ports for bunkerage activities. In this regard, IBIA recalled that its own survey to which the international association of maritime operators BIMCO participated found strong support of the maritime sector, as well as to more stringent licensing requirements for the exercise of the bunkering service, including for the greater use of mass-flow gauges both to improve market conditions and to reduce the disputes between suppliers and purchasers of the bunker.

The IBIA recalled that this year, in the wake of the survey conducted together with the BIMCO, the Port of Rotterdam and the Port of Antwerp commissioned the EC consultancy firm Delft with an investigation into possible related problems to the amount of fuel provided in the two ports and recommendations for solving them. The IBIA also recalled that in July 2021, the two ports had received a letter from 40 shipowners, bargains operators and bunker suppliers with the request to make the mass-flow gauges mandatory.

Responding to concerns made by some bunkerage companies, IBIA said it realised that making the use of mass-flow gauges mandatory would result in increased economic burden for bunker suppliers of the ports of Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Antwerp compared to the bunkerage companies operating in the port of Singapore where the Marine and Port Authority provided financial assistance by buying half of the costs for installing measuring meters. massica flow rate. "However, the estimates suggest that the additional cost per tonne of bunker delivered related to the installation of a mass flow meter is minimal," the IBIA said. In addition, the use of mass flow meters improves efficiency because it allows time savings compared with traditional manual measurements, " the association said. "In Singapore, the director of IBIA, Unni Einemo, has estimated a saving of time ranging from one to four hours for each bunkerage operation," said the IBIA director. These operational advantages and the reduction of manpower time, as well as saving time and costs thanks to the less time and lower resource for dispute resolution, have the potential to compensate in a time relatively short the costs of installation and certification of massage flow meters ".