16 March - 18 March
Centro Oceanográfico de Canarias, Santa Cruz de Tenerife
The inaugural Bunkering & Sustainability Forum is a new event focused on marine fuel strategies for islands and mid-sized ports. The event is designed to examine the current and future availability of traditional and alternative fuels in these ports and the infrastructure and maritime facilities needed to support them.
Oceanographic Center of the Canary Islands, Santa Cruz de Tenerife
If you feel you could make a significant contribution to the programme, please email Llewellyn Bankes-Hughes at [email protected] or call +44 1295 814455 to discuss this further.
Program details are updated regularly and are subject to change as new speakers are confirmed and themes developed.
Welcome Coffee & Exhibition Opens
Industry Partners
This session will welcome delegates to the Canary Islands and to the inaugural Bunkering & Sustainability Forum in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
Introduction
Llewellyn Bankes-Hughes, CEO & Founder, ship.energy
Welcome to the Port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Welcome on behalf of the Canary Islands Government
Welcome on behalf of the Cabildo of Tenerife
This session will discuss the requirements and implementation of regional environmental regulations, including FuelEU Maritime and the EU’s Emissions Trading System (ETS), as well as the IMO’s Net Zero Framework, which will be the subject of vote at an extraordinary MEPC session in October.
Speakers will consider the regulatory environment from the perspective of maritime stakeholders who operate at island and small ports, and they will focus on the compliance options available to shipowners and operators. Discussion will also focus on the regulatory obligations placed on ports, including the provision of shore power.
The impact of the introduction of the Mediterranean ECA in May 2025 on conventional bunker supply will also be addressed.
This session will look at the range of energy options available to shipping, including alternative fuels such as biofuel, LNG, methanol, hydrogen and ammonia, as well as energy sources such as wind power, nuclear and shore power. The issues of supply, demand and fuel availability and scalability in relation to the capabilities and infrastructure available at smaller/mid-sized ports will also be debated.
Moderator:
Technical Consultant, Lecturer and Author
Nigel Draffin has been involved in shipping for over 50 years and in bunkering for over 25 years. He joined Shell Tankers in 1966, serving on all classes of vessel, including VLCCs and LNG tankers. In 1979, he joined the newbuilding department of Shell International Marine and later transferred to Shell’s R&D unit, specialising in control systems, fuel combustion and safety systems.
In 1986, Nigel moved to the commercial department as a bunker buyer and economics analyst, two years later becoming Head of Operational Economics, responsible for all of the fuel purchased for the Shell fleet. In 1996, he joined E. A. Gibson Shipbrokers which, in 2006, merged with US-based broking house LQM Petroleum Services, where he was Senior Broker and Technical Manager. He retired from LQM in July 2015.
Nigel is a founder member of IBIA, serving several times on its council of management, the board and as its Chairman. Nigel has written 10 books on bunkering, shipping and marine lubes published by ship.energy. Nigel is a member of IMarEST and Past Master of the Worshipful Company of Fuellers.
Picking up on the alternative energy options explored in Session 2, this session will look at which fuel options are currently being prioritized by Tenerife and other islands and mid-sized ports and the reasoning behind the choices they are making. It will also contrast their situation by citing the experience of larger, better served and financed ports in Europe and Africa, looking at the planning, investment and infrastructure decisions that ports are having to make and whether subsidies, public enterprise funding, and public-private partnerships are sufficient to supporting new companies and the necessary infrastructure projects.
This panel session will take a deep dive into some of the key issues discussed during the Forum and look at what the energy transition means globally to shipowners, charterers and physical suppliers.
It will look at the global orderbook for alternative-fueled ships, newbuild and retrofit costs, the standoff between suppliers and buyers as each side waits for the other to invest first, and the prospect of ports becoming energy hubs in addition to their traditional role of facilitating the import and export of goods.
The challenges facing suppliers in assessing which new fuels to make available at smaller and mid-sized ports and the methods of delivery will be considered in this session. Shipowners and operators will also offer their insights on how the new fuel bunkering landscape may evolve. Will they be prepared to make bunker-only calls at smaller and mid-sized ports, and will more frequent bunkering become the norm as fuels with lower energy densities enter shipping’s fuel mix?
This last session on Day 1 will look at what makes a fit-for-purpose and future-proof maritime ecosystem. Speakers will look at terminal operations and ‘smart ports’, which increasingly rely on advances in digitalization and AI. Options for vessel efficiency and optimization will also be considered, alongside the need for improved transparency, efficiency and accountability in the fuel and wider global supply chains.
This Gala Cocktail Reception will provide a distinguished opportunity for networking and exchange in a relaxed yet elegant atmosphere, accompanied by fine refreshments and a special cultural performance.
During the evening, guests will enjoy “Ecos de isla yvolcano” – an artistic journey led by renowned musician Rogelio Botanz, bringing together the richness of Canarian traditions with global cultural influences.
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