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Bunkering & Fuel Tracking
DirectPort tracks fuel levels, bunkering operations, consumption, and costs across the vessel, voyage, and mobile app. This guide covers the full workflow — from recording fuel levels to seeing computed costs in the Financial module.
The workflow spans more than one place:
- The mobile app records Level events only.
- The web app is where priced Bunkering events are entered.
- The voyage Bunkering panel is where suggested values are reviewed and confirmed before financial items are created.
Key Concepts
Bunker events are timestamped fuel records attached to a vessel. There are two types:
- Level — A snapshot of the current fuel level in the tank. Typically recorded by the captain at departure and arrival.
- Bunkering — A refuelling event that includes the quantity loaded, unit price, and currency alongside the resulting tank level.
Level readings are used to compute voyage fuel consumption. Bunkering events provide the unit price used to estimate cost.
Units: All values are recorded in either MT (metric tonnes) or L (litres). The two level readings used for a voyage calculation must use the same unit. When both are in MT, the calculated consumption is converted to litres using the fuel density.
Recording Bunker Events (Web App)
Bunker events are managed from the vessel's detail page under the Bunker Events section, and from the voyage bunkering panel.
Creating an event
- Click the + button to open the form.
- Select the Event Type — Level or Bunkering.
- Choose the Fuel Type (HFO, MDO, MGO, VLSFO, LNG, Methanol, Diesel EN590, or Other).
- Set the Unit (MT or L) and enter the current Level.
- Set the Date/Time of the reading.
- For Bunkering events, also fill in:
- Bunkering Quantity — the amount of fuel loaded
- Unit Price and Currency
- Add optional Notes, then save.
The fuel type is pre-filled from the most recent event for convenience. When you start from one of the voyage source cards, DirectPort also suggests the event type, unit, date/time, and voyage location where possible. Review these suggestions before saving.
Editing and deleting
Click any event row to open it in the edit form. Delete via the icon that appears on hover. You need edit access in the page you are using: vessel bunker events are controlled by vessel permissions, while voyage bunkering is editable from the voyage page.
Event history
Events are displayed newest-first on the vessel. Use Show More to load older events. Voyage stop markers (ATA/ATD) appear as dividers between events, giving context for when fuel was consumed relative to port calls. From a voyage, select View all events to open this complete vessel history in a new page.
Recording Fuel Levels (Mobile App)
Captains record fuel levels from the Bunkering card on the voyage screen in the mobile app.
Fields
- Fuel Type (required)
- Level (required)
- Unit — MT or L, defaults to MT
- Date/Time (required)
- Notes (optional)
The mobile app creates Level events only. Bunkering events with pricing are entered from the web app, and voyage fuel costs are only created after someone confirms the values on the voyage page.
To protect against a common unit-selection mistake while older mobile app versions are still in use, an incoming mobile reading above 400 marked as MT is silently stored as L instead. The numeric value is not converted; only the unit is corrected. Readings of 400 MT or less are stored as entered.
Departure nudge
After logging a departure event, the app checks whether a fuel level was recorded in the last 24 hours. If not, it prompts the captain to record one. This ensures there is a departure-time reading available for consumption calculation.
TIP
Recording a fuel level at every departure and arrival gives the system the two data points it needs to automatically compute voyage fuel consumption.
Voyage Fuel Consumption & Cost
The voyage Bunkering section (under the voyage detail page) combines bunker event data into a consumption and cost summary.
Layout
The page brings the calculation inputs and result together:
- Last bunkering — The priced bunkering used to calculate cost. It must be recorded no later than the start level and use the same unit. Consumption can still be calculated when this is missing.
- Start level — The earlier tank-level reading used as the consumption baseline.
- End level — The later tank-level reading selected around the final voyage stop.
- Usage & Cost — The calculated suggestion, or the manual-entry fallback when the available events are not sufficient.
Each source card shows the event DirectPort selected, including when it was recorded and whether it came from a voyage captain. Select Edit event to correct a selected source. If a source is missing, the card explains what is needed and provides a purpose-specific action such as Record start level.
The actions above the cards provide access to View all events for the vessel's complete bunker history and Help for this guide.
Automatic prefill
When enough data exists, the system suggests fuel consumption and cost automatically:
- It looks for Level readings from 48 hours before through 72 hours after the final voyage stop, and selects the one closest to that stop as the end level.
- It selects the latest Level reading before that event as the start level.
- If both levels use the same unit and the end level is lower than the start level, it uses the difference as consumption. The fuel type on the start reading determines the saved voyage fuel type.
- It looks for the latest priced Bunkering event in the same unit at or before the start reading. The event can be older than the voyage and its fuel type does not have to match the level reading.
- It presents the suggestion and the three selected source events so you can verify the data before saving.
If the readings are in MT, they are converted to litres using the fuel's density.
TIP
In practice, the safest habit is to record one level at departure or voyage start and another at final arrival or the last stop. A reading shortly after that final stop can still be used within the 72-hour allowance.
Adding missing inputs from the voyage
When a source card has no usable event, its action opens the correct event form with voyage-aware suggestions:
- Record bunkering suggests one hour before the first voyage stop.
- Record start level suggests the first voyage stop time and location.
- Record end level suggests the final voyage stop time and location.
Fuel type and unit are copied from another selected source when available. If the voyage has no actual stop timestamp, DirectPort leaves the date/time empty instead of using the current time; choose the correct historical time before saving. New events immediately become part of the vessel's event history and are reconsidered for the calculation.
Saving fuel data
When prefilled values appear, review them and click Confirm & Save. You can also enter values manually:
- Fuel Type (required)
- Consumption in litres (required)
- Gasoil Cost — the transport-side fuel cost, unless it is already included in freight pricing
- Apply cost to customer — optionally create a separate customer-facing fuel cost
If transport gasoil is already included in freight pricing, the Gasoil Cost field is replaced by a message. To change that pricing mode, update the voyage commercial terms first.
Saved values flow into Financial Items (transport-gasoil and customer-gasoil) for invoicing only after you click Confirm & Save or Save on the voyage.
Editing and resetting
After saving, the summary switches to a read-only view showing fuel type, consumption, costs, unit cost, and CO2 emissions. Use Edit to modify values or Reset to clear the voyage fuel summary and start over. Resetting does not delete the underlying bunker events.
CO2 Emissions
Once fuel data is saved on a voyage, the system calculates estimated CO2 emissions based on the fuel type and consumption. The emission value, calculation method, and source are displayed in the Usage & Cost summary.
Fuel Types & Densities
The following fuel types are supported, with densities used for MT-to-litre conversion:
| Fuel Type | Density (kg/L) |
|---|---|
| Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) | 0.97 |
| Marine Diesel Oil (MDO) | 0.84 |
| Marine Gas Oil (MGO) | 0.85 |
| Very Low Sulphur Fuel Oil (VLSFO) | 0.86 |
| Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) | 0.45 |
| Methanol | 0.79 |
| Diesel EN590 | 0.83 |
Other is also selectable as a fuel type, but it has no built-in density conversion. If you use Other, record readings in litres or be prepared to enter voyage consumption manually.
Best Practices
- Record levels at every departure and arrival. Two readings are the minimum for automatic consumption prefill. The departure nudge in the mobile app helps enforce this habit.
- Use consistent units. Mixing MT and L between the two source Level readings prevents automatic prefill. Pick one unit and use it for voyage-start and voyage-end readings.
- Log bunkering events with pricing. Without an earlier priced bunkering in the same unit, the system can suggest consumption but not cost. Recording the unit price at refuelling time saves manual entry later.
- Complete voyage stops before reviewing fuel data. The prefill logic depends on stop timestamps (ATA/ATD) to determine the voyage window.
- Check the prefill source. When the system suggests values, it shows which two level readings and which bunkering event it used. Verify these are the correct data points before confirming.
- Do the final confirmation on the voyage page. Recording events alone does not create voyage fuel costs or financial items until the voyage summary is saved.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Likely Cause |
|---|---|
| No prefill suggestion | The final stop has no actual time; there is no end reading from 48 hours before through 72 hours after it; there is no earlier start reading; the two readings use different units; the end level is not lower; or an MT reading uses Other, which has no density |
| Prefill shows consumption but no cost | No priced Bunkering event in the same unit exists at or before the selected start reading |
| An expected event is not selected on the voyage | The calculator selects specific events by time, type, and unit. Use View all events to find and edit the complete vessel history |
| A mobile reading above 400 was saved in L | Readings above 400 sent as MT by the mobile app are treated as likely unit-selection errors and stored as L |
| Mobile app doesn't show bunkering card | Voyage may not have a vessel assigned, or the captain is not linked to the voyage |
| Gasoil cost field is disabled | "Included in freight" is enabled on the charter party terms — cost is rolled into the base freight rate |
| Financial items not created | Fuel data hasn't been saved on the voyage yet — prefilled values must be confirmed |