New Bunkering System Passes Field Tests

Nautical Control Solutions (NCS) announced that Buffalo Marine Service of Houston successfully tested its FuelTrax bunkering system on a delivery of 1,500 metric tons of IFO 500 to Maersk Wyoming, a 292-meter container ship operated by Maersk Line, the liner shipping activity of the A.P. Moller – Maersk Group (MAERSKB:Copenhagen).

The test took place on August 26, 2009 at Barbours Cut terminal at the Port of Houston. The crew of Buffalo 401k pumped at the rate of 250 metric tons per hour, with accuracy measured to less than 0.1% between the barge and the ship. Accuracy was verified by Maersk Wyoming’s own in-line mass flow meter.

The FuelTrax-based system provides real-time measurement of bunker deliveries irrespective of product type, viscosity, or temperature. More importantly, the system will accurately measure barrels and tons regardless of whether there is air, fuel, or both in the piping system.

Utilizing a Micro Motion Coriolis-type meter from Emerson (NYSE:EMR), mass, volume, density, and temperature readings were displayed simultaneously on a user-friendly touch-screen monitor aboard Buffalo Marine’s San Joaquin, a 75-foot (23 meter) tug that pushes Buffalo 401k.

When all the fuel had been delivered, the crew of San Joaquin touched the “print” button on the screen, the bunker delivery receipt was printed, and the event was completed.

Pat Studdert, President, Buffalo Marine Service, said “FuelTrax has eliminated delivery gaps in the bunkering business. Buffalo Marine crews now possess a reliable metering system that permits them to deliver multiple bunker orders without the uncertainty of stop-gauges, repeated loadings at the storage facility, and disputes over viscosity and quantity adjustments.

(www.fueltrax.com)