Taking a representative sample of bunker fuel during the transfer between seller and buyer has always been an area of potential dispute. Any supplier who can offer a guarantee of quality gains a significant competitive advantage and an operator who is confident in the quality of their fuel is secure in the knowledge of engine integrity.

Suppliers want a reputation for good quality and no one wants to pay for an off-specification fuel. Product layering in tanks and the ingress of water dictates that the only way to guarantee the specification of a delivered fuel is to extract a representative sample of the whole batch during delivery for analysis.

To maintain a record of the transaction, a sample is often divided for each party involved. If this operation is performed by hand it renders the whole process meaningless by further compounding errors. Divided samples often contain different fuel compositions that can be confusing and lead to costly dispute. Inaccurate samples are a gamble with high stakes and large potential losses.

No operator or ship charterer wants to pay in excess of $100 tonne for water or should be prepared to risk the potential catastrophe of engine failure. Bunker suppliers are under increasing pressure through the operation of "black lists" and need to be confident in the quality of their fuel.