On / Off Hire Bunker ROB Surveys
Onboard quantity survey at the time of Charter On Hire or Off Hire

The custody of bunker fuel onboard a vessel is transferred from the Owner to the Charterer when the vessel’s charter begins and it goes back to the Owner when the charter ends.

Since bunker is an expensive product, it is important to establish the exact quantity of onboard when the charter begins and again when it ends. This Bunker ROB (remaining on board) survey when done at the beginning of a charter is called the ON Hire ROB Survey and at the end of a charter is called the OFF Hire ROB Survey.

Any excess between the OFF hire quantity and the ON hire quantity is payable by the Owner to the Charterer just like any shortfall is payable by the Charterer to the Owner.

Obviously, a Charterer would like to see a lesser quantity at ON hire and more at OFF hire while the Owner will want it the other way.

A surveyor is appointed to gauge the tanks independently. Hence it is vital that he establishes the actual quantity onboard, be it an ON Hire or OFF Hire survey. He must therefore physically gauge all tanks onboard, ensure correctness in his gauging (record tank reference heights and compare them with the calibration tables), physically check each tanks temperature and carefully apply the correction factors when calculating the quantity.

Many Charterers often request for a thorough Bunker Detective Survey at the time of OFF Hire.

Charterers or Owners also often request for a Vessel Condition Survey at the time of On or Off hire ROB survey for recording the vessel’s condition at the commencement or end of the charter.