News 11 Sep, 2026 West Continues Collaboration with VPS for 2026–27 Dmitry Kisil Senior Loss Prevention Officer West is pleased to announce the renewal of its contract with Veritas Petroleum Services (VPS) for 2026–27, continuing a collaboration that provides Members with independent bunker fuel quality statistics and alerts through the Club’s Neptune platform. Download PDF West’s Bunker Fuel Quality Advisory Service was launched in 2020. Since then, VPS data has supported regular updates on the quality of Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO), Very Low Sulphur Fuel Oil (VLSFO), Ultra Low Sulphur Fuel Oil (ULSFO) and Marine Gas Oil (MGO) across the globe. Members can use Neptune to review fuel quality statistics in selected ports, while detailed port-specific reports are available upon request from West’s Loss Prevention Department. VPS Bunker Alerts and, more recently, VPS circulars all containing important information on fuel quality for voyage planning are also available through Neptune. Previous West publications have highlighted recurring concerns identified through VPS data. These included VLSFO sulphur content non-compliance in the Amsterdam–Rotterdam–Antwerp region ( link ), technical off-specifications affecting most fuel types ( link ), and continuing risks associated with catalytic fines, water, sediment and other fuel properties. Such findings demonstrate that conditions may differ significantly between ports, fuel grades and reporting periods, and underline the importance of up-to-date information on bunker quality. Various industry publications reinforce the operational value of this statistical information. The CIMAC guideline “Design and operation of fuel cleaning systems for diesel engines” recognises the risks of machinery failure when fuels are not cleaned to the required standard before use in diesel engines. The publication highlights that fuel quality parameters are important for fine-tuning the onboard cleaning systems and storage arrangements. The VPS 2025 ci