As Chief Engineer, how do you receive the correct grade and quantity of bunkers, what do you do if there is a dispute, and which MARPOL Annex VI provisions apply?

flowchart TD
  A["Pre-bunkering: order, tank capacity, checklist, SOPEP ready"] --> B["Check the BDN against the order"]
  B --> C["Draw the represented MARPOL sample, jointly witnessed"]
  C --> D["Joint before and after soundings, corrected for temperature and density"]
  D --> E{"Grade and quantity agree?"}
  E -->|Yes| F["Sign the BDN; record in the Oil Record Book"]
  E -->|"No: quantity"| G["Re-sound ship and barge; check for the cappuccino effect"]
  E -->|"No: grade"| H["Quarantine the fuel; send the sample for analysis"]
  G --> I["Sign the BDN for receipt only; letter of protest; report to the company"]
  H --> I

• In a dispute, never sign the BDN “clean”. Sign it “for receipt only” and issue a letter of protest, acknowledged by the barge master.
• Quality dispute: quarantine the fuel and do not burn it until the laboratory analysis confirms it. The retained MARPOL sample is the evidence.
• Quantity: compare the barge figure with the ship’s own soundings, corrected for temperature and density (volume to mass in metric tonnes).
• Watch for the cappuccino effect: air blown into the fuel gives a falsely high volume.
• Where compliant fuel was genuinely unavailable, a FONAR is raised.
• MEPC.1/Circ.508 guides the sampling point, method and sealing.