ABSTRACT
Little information had ever been published on bunkers in Poland, or in terms of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA) group in general. During the period between the two world wars, in which coal-burning steamers dominated, Poland was one of the largest suppliers of bunker coal in Europe. Accounts for bunker coal were to be settled in cash and debited against the owners in the Disbursement Account. The decline in the role of bunker coal was matched by a rise in the use of fuel oil but with notable currency problems for Poland. The increasing proportion of oil burning vessels coupled with the growing number of Polish vessels resulted in an increase in the quantity and variety of liquid fuel supplied by Petrolimpex, the state-owned and organised fuel supplying FTO. Polish ports could supply vessels with unlimited amounts of oils at any time of the day or night.
