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Houston-based bunker supplier Buffalo Marine Service is rolling out an advanced bunker fuel measurement system to support customers along the Texas and Louisiana coasts.

Part of the FuelTrax Marine Fuel Management system, this new feature aims to provide a highly accurate data acquisition and reporting tool that will automatically measure bunker fuel as it is pumped from a barge onto a vessel.

According to developers Nautical Control Solutions, LP (NCS), FuelTrax will now provide real-time measurement of bunker fuel deliveries irrespective of product type, viscosity, or temperature. More importantly, the system is said to accurately measure barrels and metric tons regardless of whether there is air, fuel, or both in the piping system. Bunker suppliers and vessel operators are therefore set to benefit from the increased measurement accuracy of this new FuelTrax feature,

“We have a state-of-the-art command and control center, new top-of-the-line tugs, and safety-proven double-hulled bunker barges. It makes sense for us to lead the way in helping the industry improve the accuracy of the bunkering process,” said Pat Studdert, President, Buffalo Marine Service.

“We realize that reliable and prompt service is our hallmark and we are the best marine bunker service company along the U.S. Gulf Coast. Our focus has been and continues to be delivering bunkers safely, promptly, and professionally without fear of creating a pollution incident. With the advent of FuelTrax, our customers can rest assured that the delivery process is a model of precision and extraordinarily accurate. We are excited to be the first in North America to install such a system.”

“We are very pleased to announce Buffalo as our first bunker system customer,” said Anthony George, CEO of NCS. “Their reputation as a leading, first-class bunkering service couples well with this leading-edge technology. FuelTrax will accurately measure any kind of bunker fuel, drastically reducing the errors associated with the manual measurement techniques currently used. We expect that as bunkering accuracy increases across the industry, quantity disputes will decrease around the globe. It’s a win-win situation for the bunker suppliers and vessel owners.”

FuelTrax utilizes Coriolis meters that have no moving parts and do not require regularly scheduled maintenance. These meters are said to be highly accurate and to have the ability to measure the actual mass of the fluid moving through them. This is important in an industry where fuel is loaded in bulk and delivered by volume/mass (barrels/metric tons). Once the delivery is completed, FuelTrax will produce a hardcopy meter ticket for the customer that includes the exact amount of fuel delivered in both volume and mass measurements.

“Future versions of the system will provide customers with 24 hour, seven day per week Web-based access to their bunkering events worldwide”, continued Mr. George. “Coupled with a fuel product digital signature, both bunkering agents and vessel owners will have the ability to reconcile purchases online once the bunker delivery is completed. Our ultimate goal is to revolutionize the bunkering industry through advanced automation, accurate Coriolis metering technology, and the Internet.”