When a cargo fails, the clock costs more than the discount. We place off-spec, rejected, contaminated and distressed parcels, biodiesel outside EN 14214, vegetable oil with FFA or colour out, fats with a moisture or titre problem, commingled or heat-damaged parcels, and recycled polymer loads that failed inbound inspection. The commercial question is never "what is it worth" in the abstract. It is which buyer can physically run it, how fast they can take it, and what demurrage and storage are costing while everyone decides.
Why speed beats price discovery
A distressed cargo has a cost of carry that most sellers underestimate in the first 48 hours. Demurrage on a parcel tanker, storage and heating at a terminal, quarantined tank capacity the terminal wants back, a container accruing detention, these run continuously while an owner shops the parcel around looking for a better number.
In practice the difference between the best and second-best offer on an off-spec parcel is usually far smaller than the cost of taking an extra ten days to find it. We have seen owners lose more to demurrage than the entire spread they were negotiating over. The right instinct is to run a short, controlled process with buyers who are genuinely capable of taking the material, and to close.
There is also a duty to mitigate. Where insurance or a contractual claim is in play, the cargo owner is generally expected to act reasonably to limit the loss, and a long unexplained delay in disposing of a deteriorating parcel is difficult to defend later.
What we place
- Off-spec FAME and biodiesel: CFPP outside the seasonal grade, oxidation stability failed, monoglycerides high, water or total contamination out, ester content below 96.5 %.
- Off-spec vegetable and technical oils: FFA, moisture, colour, peroxide value or trace contamination outside contract.
- Off-spec fats and tallow: MIU, titre or category documentation problems.
- Commingled and cross-contaminated parcels: previous-cargo contamination, a wrong-tank transfer, or two grades mixed in a shore tank.
- Heat-damaged and water-ingress cargo: including parcels affected in transit or in storage.
- Recycled polymer loads that failed inbound inspection: moisture, contamination or polymer mix outside the agreed bale spec.
- Pyrolysis oil outside acceptance limits: most often chlorine, silicon or water; see pyrolysis oil.
- Slops, tank bottoms, wash water and interface material: where there is a legitimate recovery or energy outlet.
How the routes usually work out
Most distressed parcels have more than one possible home, and the right one depends on how far out of specification the material is and on what it would cost to correct.
- Reblending or correction: the best outcome where it is feasible. Blending down into a larger compliant stream, winterising a cold-flow failure, drying a wet parcel, or filtering solids.
- Reprocessing: back through a refiner, a re-refiner or a pretreatment unit that can bring the material back on-spec.
- Downgrade to a lower-value outlet: industrial or heating fuel, oleochemical use, anaerobic digestion or, for some polymer loads, energy recovery. Lower value, but immediate and certain.
- Salvage sale as-is: where the material has a buyer who can run it without correction and simply prices for the risk.
- Disposal: the last resort, and the one worth the most effort to avoid, because it converts a discounted asset into a pure cost.
What to send us, and what to protect
Two things determine how fast a distressed parcel moves: the quality of the information, and whether the evidence has been preserved. Get both right in the first hours and the options stay open.
| Full analysis | The failing certificate of analysis and, where available, the load-port analysis for comparison. |
|---|---|
| Retained samples | Sealed, properly labelled, held by both sides. The single most valuable thing in any later dispute, do not let them be discarded. |
| Independent survey report | From a recognised inspection company, instructed early rather than after positions have hardened. |
| Location and form | Vessel, shore tank, container, road tanker; and whether it can be moved at all in its current state. |
| Quantity | Actual, with the measurement basis stated. |
| Cost of carry | Demurrage rate, storage, heating and detention, the number that should be driving the decision. |
| Certification status | Whether any proof of sustainability travels with the parcel and whether it survives the downgrade. |
| Deadlines | Free time, laycan, terminal notice to vacate, any insurance notification period. |
Where we stop
We are a broker. We place the cargo and we bring the buyers. We are not an insurance intermediary, a surveyor, an average adjuster or a law firm, we give no insurance or legal advice, and we do not act on the claim itself.
In practice we work alongside those people rather than instead of them: the cargo owner's insurer, appointed surveyor, adjuster and lawyers handle the claim, and we handle the commercial disposal of the material, which is usually the part nobody else in that group is equipped to do quickly. See cargo claims and compromised parcels for how those two tracks fit together.
Frequently asked questions
How quickly can you place an off-spec cargo?
With a full analysis and a clear location, we can normally be in front of credible buyers the same working day and have firm interest within one to three days, depending on the product and how far out of specification it is. The binding constraint is almost always how quickly the seller can decide, not how quickly the market can respond.
What happens to off-spec biodiesel?
Usually one of three things: it is blended down into a larger compliant stream, it is corrected, winterised for a cold-flow failure, dried, filtered, or it is downgraded to an industrial or heating fuel outlet. Which is realistic depends on how far out it is and on which parameter failed. A marginal CFPP is very different from a failed ester content.
Do you buy distressed cargo yourselves?
No. We are a broker and never take title. That matters more here than anywhere else: a party offering to buy your distressed parcel has every incentive to talk the value down, and we do not have that conflict. We are paid a commission on the concluded sale.
Should I keep the retained samples?
Yes, without exception, and make sure they are sealed and properly labelled. Retained samples from load and discharge are the single most valuable piece of evidence in any quality dispute, and they are frequently discarded during the confusion of a rejection. Preserve them before anything else.
Can you help with the insurance claim?
No, and we are careful about that line. We are not an insurance intermediary and we give no insurance advice. Your insurer, the appointed surveyor and, where relevant, the average adjuster handle the claim. What we do is the commercial side, placing the material with a buyer who can run it, quickly, which is usually the part of the process nobody else is set up to handle.
What if the cargo has lost its sustainability certification?
That is common and needs to be established early, because it changes the buyer list entirely. Material that can no longer carry a valid proof of sustainability cannot go to a buyer whose economics depend on counting it, so it routes to industrial, oleochemical or energy outlets instead. Knowing this on day one avoids wasting days approaching buyers who were never able to take it.
Do you handle small quantities?
Yes. A single road tanker or a handful of IBCs of off-spec material is a real problem for whoever is holding it, and it is often easier to place than a full parcel because more buyers can absorb it without disrupting their own operation.
Who to ask about Off-spec & distressed cargoes
Ask us. Cargo on the water or in tank that has failed? Send the analysis and the location, speed is worth more than price discovery here. We answer the same working day, in English or Dutch, and there is no charge and no obligation for a market read or a second opinion on a specification.
You get Bart van den Brug directly, not a call centre and not a form that goes nowhere. We are an independent broker: we never take title, we do not trade our own book, and we are paid a commission only on business that actually concludes. That is why we will also tell you when the answer is no.
+31 6 115 83 448
[email protected]
Sustainable Commodities 3 B.V., Lemmer, the Netherlands
Last reviewed 09 August 2026 by Bart van den Brug, Sustainable Commodities 3 B.V. (KvK 99665042), Lemmer, the Netherlands. Regulatory references are given for orientation and are not legal advice; verify against the current Official Journal text before contracting.