Energy & Petroleum

Energy & petroleum maritime operations

Bangladesh runs on imported petroleum products. Tankers deliver them to Chattogram's outer anchorage, with lighter tankers and oil berths beyond. For suppliers and traders, every delivery runs against fixed laytime, and an hour lost at the anchorage or the berth becomes demurrage. AMS gives tanker operators, suppliers, charterers and traders a local desk that watches that clock from nomination to final documents.

≈7.4 Mtnational fuel demand, FY2025–26BPC, as reported

≈1.5 Mt/yrcapacity of the state refinerythe rest arrives refined

½ tender · ½ G2Ghow BPC typically buys refined productsin Jan–Jun and Jul–Dec programmes

120 hlaytime for a 30,000 MT gasoil cargorecent BPC tender, incl. lightering

ProductsGasoil · Jet A-1 · HSFO · Gasoline · Marine fuels
Typical vesselsSmall tankers and MR product tankers
Where we workOuter anchorage, lighter tankers and oil berths
Our focusLaytime, demurrage and accurate reporting

Typical BPC cargoes and laytime

Product	Full cargo	Laytime allowed	Delivery
Gasoil 50 ppm (or + Jet A-1)	30,000 MT (10,000 + 20,000 combination)	120 running hours, FHINC	Outer anchorage, lightering to oil berth at seller's cost
HSFO 180 cSt	25,000 MT ±10%	108 running hours, FHINC	Vessel must come direct to jetty
Gasoline 95 unleaded	25,000 MT ±10%	108 running hours, FHINC	Vessel must come direct to jetty
Marine fuel 0.5% S	15,000 MT ±10%	84 running hours, FHINC	Vessel must come direct to jetty

From a recent BPC international tender schedule. Berth draft at Chattogram oil berths is quoted there as 7–9 m, with LOA up to 186 m and a minimum discharge capacity of 700 MT per hour. Terms vary by tender.

Clean and dirty products

Category	Products	What it means for the port call
Clean products	Gasoline, Jet A-1, Gasoil	Tank cleanliness and quality inspection matter most, and buyers look at the vessel's last three cargoes. These products usually discharge faster.
Dirty products	HSFO, fuel oil	Heating is needed to keep the product pumpable. Discharge is slower and stripping takes longer, so plan the call around it.

Where demurrage is won or lost

Risk point	What we do about it
NOR window	At Chattogram outer anchorage a BPC NOR counts only between 06:00 and 18:00. We time the arrival and tender NOR when the window opens.
Night navigation	If lightering cannot start on arrival because of the night navigation restriction, laytime waits until 06:00. We plan lighter tankers so the first hose connects at first light.
Shore rate restrictions	Terminal limits on rate and pressure confirmed before arrival, so the estimate is realistic.
Weather and tide	Stoppages for bad weather and low tide are excluded or counted at 50%, so we log every stoppage in the SOF.
Quantity and quality	The ship arrival figure is fixed by the independent inspector at the anchorage. We make sure tanks, ullages and samples are ready for the inspector.
Documentation	Cargo documents, survey reports and port papers prepared ahead of arrival.

Before arrival, we ask the vessel

Number and type of cargo pumps (deepwell or pump-room)
Maximum discharge rate and pressure
Manifold size and connections
Cargo tank plan and ullages on arrival

Heating temperature for HSFO / fuel oil
Stripping pump capacity
Arrival draft and trim
Bunker ROB for the expected waiting time

Estimate the discharge

Try a typical BPC cargo:

Interactive tool

Discharge time estimator

A quick, indicative estimate of how long a tanker will take to discharge. This is the same first check our desk runs when a nomination arrives.

Cargo quantity (MT)

Density at 15°C

Vessel max pump rate (m³/h)

Realistic rate (% of max)

Shore / terminal limit (m³/h, optional)

Connection, stripping, line draining (h)

Laytime allowed (h, optional)

Volume–

Working rate–

Pumping time–

Estimated total–

Indicative only. Actual discharge depends on shore pressure and line restrictions, cargo viscosity and heating, number of grades, weather and terminal procedures. Send us the vessel's Q88 and cargo plan for a proper estimate.

Documents we track

Notice of ReadinessUllage reportsPumping logStatement of FactsTanker discharge report / time sheetCertificate of quantity & qualityBill of Lading & cargo docsROB bunker survey

Tanker terms, in brief

Ullage: The empty space above the cargo in a tank, measured from the top. Ullages before and after discharge show how much has gone ashore.
Ship arrival figure: The quantity on board measured by the independent inspector on arrival at the outer anchorage. BPC uses it as the invoice quantity.
NOR: Notice of Readiness. The master's notice that the vessel has arrived and is ready to discharge.
FHINC: Fridays and holidays included: laytime runs every day.
Laytime: The time allowed in the contract to discharge the cargo.
Demurrage: The amount payable for time used beyond laytime.
Stripping: Pumping out the last cargo from the tank bottoms at a slower rate at the end of discharge.
CFR: Cost and Freight. The seller supplies the cargo and arranges the vessel to the discharge port.

Bidding for a BPC package? See our Government Tender Desk for the full set of delivery terms.

Sources for the figures on this page