World Bunkering > News > Autumn 2009 > Spot on analysis

Nigel Draffin

If you want find out something ask an expert. If you want a practical, down to earth view of fuel analysis and testing, asking specialist consultant and former chief engineer Nigel Draffin is a good place to start. He has been in the shipping industry 43 years and in the commercial bunker market for over 23. So Nigel has done the industry a favour by writing a small book that will answer most basic questions without the need to actually track him down and ask him. An Introduction to Fuel Analysis brings home the importance of knowing the fuels you are dealing with in a bright, simple and effective way.

According to the publisher the book contains “a wealth of information that will enable everyone from the newcomer to the ‘old hand’ to understand bunker fuels and what they contain, how to test each key parameter and what the test results actually mean, and what happens when problem results appear”.

The publisher would say that, but, from reading this slim volume I’d say that description is spot on. The book includes numerous detailed diagrams, tables, charts and photographs which will certainly help anyone who has any doubts about what can be found in marine fuels and, once found, what to do about it.

In addition, some very useful appendices provide places to go for help, lists of abbreviations and a multi-lingual glossary of the words and terms most often found in fuel test analysis reports.

Petrospot also claims that, although never a substitute for the huge amount of detail that can be obtained from a professional analyst using a fully-equipped modern laboratory, this book certainly provides a substantial amount of information that should be welcomed and absorbed by anyone involved in any way with marine fuels. I’d add to that. An Introduction to Fuel Analysis ought to be compulsory reading for cadets, deck as well as engineering, at a very early stage in their careers. And, of course, it it ought to be actually on board every ship.

Nigel Draffin is the coordinator of IBIA’s Education Working Group and author of IBIA’s Basic Bunkering Course. He is also Technical Director of the Oxford Bunker Course, a member of the Institute of Marine Engineering Science and Technology, and Past Master of the Worshipful Company of Fuellers.