On 10 Mar 2005, a vessel bunkered marine diesel fuel (MDO) at an Indian port. The fuel was delivered by the supplier using trucks and the crew noticed an unusual odor at the time of bunkering. Two hours after the ship's auxiliary engines [B&W] started consuming the said MDO, RPM indicated a continuous decline. The other two auxiliary engines onboard also met with the same fate and there was a total power failure onboard. The crew had to replace the fuel manually, using drums as the ship was drifting without power. They suffered skin irritation and the fuel pumps also suffered extensive damage. Detailed analysis using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) revealed that the distillate fraction of the samples was contaminated with Dimethyl Sulfide, 3-Chloropropanenitrile and 2-propanol. The incidence resulted in voyage failure, health hazard and damage to equipment onboard. The bunker bulletin of DNV Petroleum Services, Rotterdam on the matter, reproduced by the DG Shipping India may be referred by interested mariners for a perusal of lessons learned.
Posted On:18-Aug-2005 Read More ... |