Manual of Petroleum Measurement Standards Chapter 17.1

Guidelines for Marine Inspection

SIXTH EDITION, JUNE 2014

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Copyright © 2014 American Petroleum Institute

Foreword

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Contents

Page

1. Scope 1

2. Normative References 1

3. Terms and Definitions 3

4. Safety and Health Considerations 7

   1. General 7

   2. Static Electricity Hazards 7

   3. Health Hazards 8

5. General Information 8

6. API MPMS Chapter 17 Standards Overview 9

   1. General 9

   2. Chapter 17.2—Measurement of Cargoes on Board Tank Vessels 9

   3. Chapter 17.3—Guidelines for Identification of the Source of Free Waters Associated with Marine Petroleum Cargo Movements 9

   4. Chapter 17.4—Method for Quantification of Small Volumes on Marine Vessels (OBQ/ROB) 9

   5. Chapter 17.5/EI HM 64—Guidelines for Cargo Analysis and Reconciliation of Cargo Quantities 9

   6. Chapter 17.6—Guidelines for Determining the Fullness of Pipelines Between Vessels and

      Shore Tanks 9

   7. Chapter 17.7—Recommended Practices for Developing Barge Control Factors (Volume Ratio) 9

   8. Chapter 17.8—Guidelines for Pre-loading Inspection of Marine Vessel Cargo Tanks 9

   9. Chapter 17.9/EI HM 49—Vessel Experience Factor (VEF) 10

   10. Chapter 17.10.1/ISO 10976—Measurement of Cargoes on Board Marine Gas Carriers,

       Part 1— Liquefied Natural Gas. 10

   11. Chapter 17.10.2/EI HM 55—Measurement of Refrigerated and/or Pressurized Cargoes on Board

       Marine Gas Carriers, Part 2—Liquefied Petroleum and Chemical Gases 10

   12. Chapter 17.11/EI HM 52—Measurement and Sampling of Cargoes on Board Tank Vessels Using

       Closed and Restricted Equipment 10

   13. Chapter 17.12/EI HM 51—Procedure for Bulk Liquid Chemical Cargo Inspection by Cargo

       Inspectors 10

7. Operations Overview 10

   1. General 10

   2. Key Meeting 10

8. Vessel/Shore Communication and Operations 12

9. Vessel Inspection and Sampling 12

   1. Vessel Inspection 12

   2. Vessel Sampling 15

   3. During Transfer 17

10. Shore Inspection and Sampling 17

    1. Shore Lines 17

    2. Shore Tank Gauges 17

    3. Shore Tank Temperatures. 18

    4. Sampling 19

    5. Meters 20

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       Contents

       Page

11. Voyage Analysis and Reconciliation 20

    1. Shore and Vessel Transferred Volume Calculations 20

    2. Load Port Voyage Analysis 20

    3. In-transit Difference 20

    4. Discharge Port Voyage Analysis 21

    5. Qualitative Testing 21

    6. LOP or Notice of Apparent Discrepancy 21

    7. Time Log 21

    8. Distribution of Documents 21

Annex A (informative) Sample Forms 22

Bibliography 45

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Introduction

These guidelines are intended to encourage uniform inspection practices for marine petroleum and chemical cargo quantity and quality control. Use of these guidelines will simplify the making of agreements for transferring petroleum and chemical cargoes and help ensure that the agreements can be clearly interpreted and executed between parties. The recommendations provided here are not intended to interfere in any way with provisions contrary to these guidelines that may exist in any contract or applicable recommended practices of other regulatory or standards bodies, nor are they intended to interfere with safety and environmental considerations or local conditions. These guidelines are not promulgated as the only acceptable method of custody transfer measurement or inspection practices. Guidelines for the inspection of marine cargo are subject to ongoing reappraisal and periodic change.

Measurement and sampling activities to be performed on board a vessel shall be accomplished in the presence of, or with the express permission of, the vessel’s master or other appropriate authority. Activities to be performed at the loading and discharge shore facilities shall be accomplished in the presence of, or with the express permission of, the appropriate shore supervisory personnel.

For reasons of safety, only appropriate and approved equipment should be used. Local jurisdictional regulations regarding loading and unloading also shall be followed.

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Guidelines for Marine Inspection

1. Scope

   These guidelines specify the policy and minimum recommended practices for the manual and automatic measurement, sampling, and accounting for bulk quantities of crude oil (including spiked, blended, and reconstituted crude oil), petroleum products, and chemicals that are transported on marine vessels. The activities described in these guidelines include actions by producers, buyers, sellers, terminal operators, vessel owners and their crews, customs authorities, independent inspectors, and other parties with an interest in measurements.

   
   

   Certain vessel or terminal configurations and cargo characteristics, particularly chemicals, may require extensive procedures and calculation methods not covered in this chapter.

   
   

   Cargo calculations should be performed independently by the responsible parties and/or by their authorized representatives. The results of the quality determinations and quantity calculations should be compared and any differences resolved without delay. Each party involved in a custody transfer is responsible within their domain for contributing to a reconciliation of vessel and shore quantities and for seeking explanations for any discrepancies.

   
   

   Any discrepancies relating to quality determination and/or calculated quantities should be recorded and reported to all interested parties. This procedure may be accomplished by issuance of a Letter of Protest (LOP) or Notice of Apparent Discrepancy. Every effort should be made to resolve discrepancies before the vessel departs.

   
   

   The independent inspection report for the cargo custody transfer should be issued and distributed promptly.

   
   

   These procedures are equally valid and applicable for either metric or customary units of measurement, provided that the same types of units are used consistently.

   
   

2. Normative References

The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.

API MPMS Chapter 3.1A, Standard Practice for the Manual Gauging of Petroleum and Petroleum Products

API MPMS Chapter 3.1B, Standard Practice for Level Measurement of Liquid Hydrocarbons in Stationary Tanks by Automatic Tank Gauging

API MPMS Chapter 3.4, Standard Practice for Level Measurement of Liquid Hydrocarbons on Marine Vessels by Automatic Tank Gauging

API MPMS Chapter 3.5, Standard Practice for Level Measurement of Light Hydrocarbon Liquids Onboard Marine Vessels by Automatic Tank Gauging

API MPMS Chapter 4, Proving Systems (all sections) API MPMS Chapter 5, Metering (all sections)

API MPMS Chapter 7, Temperature Determination

API MPMS Chapter 7.3, Fixed Automatic Tank Temperature Systems

API MPMS Chapter 8.1, Standard Practice for Manual Sampling of Petroleum and Petroleum Products

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