Dirty Product Enquiries: Define the Actual Cargo

Overview

The coordinator can make the enquiry useful without giving technical operating instructions. It should preserve the cargo source's information, identify the people able to clarify it and separate confirmed requirements from assumptions copied from an earlier movement. That gives recipients a defined proposition on which to respond.

Key takeaways

• Use the broad cargo category only alongside a specific product and parcel reference.
• Preserve supplier information and instructions in their issued form.
• Ask specialists to identify missing data rather than filling gaps from general practice.
• Distinguish the requested commercial service from the technical method of performing it.
• Control revisions so all relevant bidders use the same cargo basis.

Identify the product and its source

Start with the commercial cargo description, supplier or nominated source and parcel status. Record the current specification or information-pack reference and identify whether the cargo is confirmed or still under allocation.

Do not infer detailed properties from a general name such as fuel oil or dirty product. The responsible source should provide the information needed for the proposed movement and answer questions about its meaning.

If the enquiry includes supplier instructions, retain the original wording and reference. A coordinator's shortened summary can omit a qualification that matters to the reviewing party.

The enquiry should also identify the contact who can provide authoritative clarification. A trading contact can coordinate the response without claiming technical authority over every cargo question.

Separate requirements from assumed methods

State what the cargo source or buyer requires within the commercial proposition, then route technical questions to the responsible specialists. The enquiry should not prescribe vessel procedures or operating settings.

Where a requirement appears unclear or inconsistent with another document, record the discrepancy and seek clarification. Do not choose the version that makes the freight request easier to send.

IMO's MARPOL Annex I concerns prevention of pollution by oil. Regulatory applicability remains a matter for the current text and responsible review. IMO oil-pollution framework.

The commercial enquiry can reference the applicable review process without summarising technical rules as if that establishes vessel-specific compliance. Ask the relevant parties what evidence they need for their decision.

Describe the service the buyer wants priced

Identify the proposed quantity, loading arrangement, receiving proposition and timing basis. Where a service or obligation is requested in addition to the basic movement, state its commercial scope clearly and ask the bidder to confirm its treatment.

Do not assume that an owner has accepted every supplier instruction merely by quoting freight. Ask for acknowledgment of the controlled pack and identification of any open conditions.

The matrix should help the desk ask precise questions rather than become a substitute for the underlying documents.

Keep alternatives from blending together

If the buyer is considering more than one product or supplier parcel, give each a separate scenario reference. Explain which programme assumptions remain common and which change.

A bidder may be willing to discuss one alternative but need more information for another. Preserve that distinction instead of recording a broad positive response against the entire enquiry.

Where an alternative is too undeveloped to support a meaningful response, identify the next information needed before circulating it widely. A long enquiry containing loosely defined options can create more confusion than useful choice.

If the business needs an early budget, ask whether a qualified indication is possible and state its intended use. The response should remain labelled as provisional until the relevant information and decisions are complete.

Control supplier clarification and revised instructions

When the supplier answers a question, identify whether the response clarifies the existing pack or changes it. If it changes the basis, issue a controlled revision to relevant recipients.

Ask bidders and reviewers whether their earlier responses remain applicable. The coordinator should not decide that a changed requirement is immaterial because the product name has not changed.

Maintain a short log of the question, answer source, revised reference and affected scenario. This prevents different teams from relying on different interpretations of the same cargo.

If an instruction appears to conflict with a vessel or terminal response, route the conflict to the responsible parties. Do not reconcile technical directions through commercial improvisation. The authorised commercial lead should understand the open dependency and its effect on the next decision.

Fictional case: a copied requirement

A fictional dirty-products trader reuses an enquiry from an earlier movement and changes the quantity and dates. The message retains a supplier requirement from the previous cargo, while the new information pack contains a different description.

A recipient asks which reference governs. The coordinator checks with the current supplier and discovers that the copied text does not belong to the new parcel. The team removes the unsupported summary, issues a controlled enquiry revision and asks recipients to identify any effect on their responses.

The trader also creates a clearer intake process: each cargo requirement must point to its issuing source, and reused templates must be checked against the current pack before circulation.

The correction does not require the coordinator to decide how the cargo should be handled. It ensures that specialists and bidders are assessing the actual supplier information rather than an accidental mixture of old and new instructions.

Close the enquiry into a usable decision record

Before comparing responses, confirm the cargo-pack and programme references each bidder used. Record price status, review conditions and any unresolved commercial obligations separately.

The recommendation should identify which offers are ready for the intended decision and which need further clarification. A concise condition register can show the owner and required response for each open matter.

At handover, include the current supplier contact, active scenarios and next update trigger. The incoming colleague should know which assumptions remain provisional and who can resolve them.

A post-enquiry review can then focus on whether the desk supplied the right information and maintained a consistent basis. Slow or conditional responses may reveal an incomplete request rather than a market-wide problem.

Common mistakes

Using a broad dirty-product label as a substitute for the actual cargo information leaves recipients to make assumptions the sender may not intend.

Another mistake is to copy supplier requirements from an earlier movement without verifying their applicability to the current parcel.

Finally, avoid treating a freight response as acceptance of every technical or commercial condition in the enquiry. Ask for the scope and open dependencies explicitly.

Where Zeaclub fits

Zeaclub offers digitalised procedures across the voyage workflow.

Zeaclub provides 24/7 operating systems and worldwide coverage.

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