Issues with Bunkers on Redelivery Bunker price disputes arise from market volatility and charter ambiguities, with tribunals typically allowing a five percent margin on redelivery quantities and applying market prices for excess or shortfall bunkers. Articles Soti Demetriou Published: June 19, 2023 Contact author Download article pdf Bunker price disputes can arise on various issues, especially at times where there is bunker market price volatility or low profit margins.  The aim of this article is to consider some of these issues and discuss recent arbitration decisions which provide guidance. Under most time charterparties, the supply of bunkers is normally the responsibility of Charterers.  Bunkers usually become Charterers’ property upon delivery of the vessel until they are purchased back by Owners on redelivery.   Owners are under a general duty to assist in providing Charterers with information to enable Charterers to stem appropriate bunker quantities so that the vessel is redelivered with the contractually agreed quantities onboard.  Generally, Charterers are not permitted to order additional bunkers not required for the chartered service for their own commercial purposes, for example for the purpose of making a trading profit on redelivery where the market price is less than the stipulate contract price. “About” Margin for Redelivered Bunker Quantity  Charterparties specify the quantity of the bunkers on redelivery which is usually preceded by the term “about”. As a rule of thumb, the term “about” makes an allowance of five per cent from the set quantity given the difficulty in determining precisely the bunker quantity needed before redelivery, unless the parties agreed otherwise or a different margin is justified by the particular facts of a case.  In London Arbitration 13/03 the tribunal considered the applicable margin where a charterparty required Charterers to redeliver the vessel with “about” the same quantities of bunke