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Stability & CargoPage 11 of 15

The ship's figure against the Bill of Lading, in per cent

Why it matters This percentage decides whether a letter of protest is written and what it claims; the wrong figure or the wrong sign says the ship is over when she is short.

The ship's figures against the Bill of Lading: only the GSV is like for like, and it is shortA magnified barrel scale from 776500 bbl, not from zero. The Bill of Lading, 780000 bbl, is the vertical line. The ship's Gross Standard Volume at 60 °F, 777566 bbl, ends 2434 bbl short of it: 777566 − 780000 = -2434 bbl, -0.312 % of the Bill of Lading. The Total Calculated Volume, 778746 bbl, adds the 1180 bbl of free water and reads only -0.161 %. The Total Observed Volume, 799666 bbl, is at the cargo's own temperature and runs off the scale (2.521 %).SHIP AGAINST SHORE · MAGNIFIED SCALEBill of Lading780000 bblTOV 799666 bbl · 2.521 %warm, off this scaleTCV 778746 bbl= GSV + 1180 bbl free waterGSV at 60 °F 777566 bbl-2434 bbl-0.312 % of the B/LTCV: -0.161 %the water counted777000778000779000780000781000bblscale starts at 776500 bbl

Words on this page

Bill of Lading (B/L)
the shipping paper that states the cargo, written from the shore's figure at the standard temperature.
Ship's figure and shore figure
what the ship measures in her own tanks, and what the terminal measures ashore.
Total Observed Volume (TOV)
everything measured in the tanks at the cargo's own temperature, free water included.
Gross Standard Volume (GSV)
the oil alone, brought to the standard temperature; the figure that matches the B/L.
Total Calculated Volume (TCV)
the GSV plus the free water found in the tanks.
Free water
water lying under the oil in the tank; it is not oil, so it is not compared with the B/L; it is reported on its own.
Standard temperature
the one temperature, 60 °F here, that volumes are brought to so they can be compared.
Letter of protest (LOP)
the ship's written notice that her figure differs from the shore's by more than is normal.
Short
the ship has received less than the paper says; the difference is negative.
bbl
a barrel, the oil trade's unit of volume, about 159 litres.

An everyday picture

You carry the shopping home and check it against the receipt. The receipt says 100 eggs. In the kitchen you count 97 eggs and a puddle on the floor of the bag.

You compare the eggs with the eggs. You do not add the puddle to the count. And you do not weigh the wet bag to count the eggs.

Three short out of a hundred is three per cent of the receipt, not of your count. And it is minus three, because you are the one short.

The rule

  • Pick the ship's figure that is like the B/L. The B/L is oil at the standard temperature. So it is the Gross Standard Volume, the GSV. Not the TOV, which is warm. Not the TCV, which holds the free water.
  • The VEF page worked TCV against TCV, as API 17.9 does; this shortfall is stated on the oil alone, GSV against the B/L.
  • Difference = ship's GSV − B/L. Keep the sign. A minus sign means the ship has less than the paper says.
  • Divide by the B/L, not by the ship's figure. The tolerance in the charter party is written on the B/L quantity.
  • Multiply by 100 for the per cent. If it is beyond what is normal for this ship, the letter of protest quotes this figure.

Formula

  • Difference = ship's GSV − B/L quantity
  • Difference % = difference ÷ B/L quantity × 100

Worked example

Bill of Lading quantity780000 bbl
Ship’s Total Observed Volume799666 bbl
Ship’s Gross Standard Volume at 60 °F777566 bbl
Ship’s Total Calculated Volume at 60 °F778746 bbl
  1. Like with like: the B/L is at 60 °F, so the ship's figure is the GSV, 777566 bbl (not the TOV 799666 or the TCV 778746)Only the oil at the standard temperature can be set against the B/L.
  2. Difference = 777566 − 780000 = -2434 bblThe sign is part of the answer: minus means the ship is short.
  3. Difference % = -2434 ÷ 780000 × 100 = -0.312 %The share is of the B/L, because that is the quantity the tolerance is written against.

Answer-0.312 %

Common mistake

Comparing the TCV, 778746 bbl, with the B/L.

The TCV carries 1180 bbl of free water. The B/L is a quantity of oil; water does not belong in the comparison, wherever it came from; it goes in its own letter of protest. Counting it gives -0.161 %, about half the real shortfall, and the letter of protest claims too little.

Note for mariners Before you call a difference a loss, take off any OBQ; divide by the VEF on the basis it was built on; report free water on its own; the tolerance is the charter party's.