After multiple years of stressed and broken supply chains, the maritime industry has increasingly focused on how to build a more resilient shipping sector in every sense of the word. But as global demand for goods increases and other sectors make decarbonisation progress, the shipping industry is at risk of being left behind. Today, essentially 100% of fuels used in deep sea shipping are fossil fuels. Given the long lifespan of ships, the need to revamp port and vessel infrastructure, and create new fuel value chains, the shipping sector must begin its journey to zero now. Decarbonisation of the shipping […]

Fugu, a type of pufferfish, is one of Japan’s desired foods. It has a big problem, though. If it’s not substantially transformed, fugu is lethally toxic to humans. Death is pretty gruesome: fugu toxin paralyses muscles. The eater remains fully conscious as they become unable to breathe and gradually asphyxiate. There is no known antidote to fugu poison. The only way to survive is to purge one’s system of the poison (not a pleasant process, either). So Japan strictly controls fugu preparation, requiring three years of training of chefs who substantially transform the fugu so it is suitable to eat […]

Russia’s war in Ukraine has undoubtedly had a major impact on the world economy, felt by governments and citizens alike. One need only mention escalating petrol prices, a global shortage of grains, and a surge in the price of natural gas. Russia’s aggression has been met by economic sanctions and other key decisions taken by a host of counties, organisations, and even private companies. The first round of sanctions came from the US and the European Union (EU) on 21 February 2022, the day Russia’s President Vladimir Putin officially recognised the independence and sovereignty of the declared Luhansk People’s Republic […]

In July this year, the Singapore-based Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) announced that it is leading a consortium of 18 industry partners to launch a drop-in biofuels pilot project and establish an assurance framework to underpin the supply chain of current and future green marine fuels. This is the latest in a raft of initiatives and alliances implemented by the Centre since its creation just over a year ago, and Bunkerspot spoke with its CEO, Professor Lynn Loo, to learn more about its activities and how it is forging links with global maritime stakeholders to deliver the shipping’s energy […]

The bunker industry is an interesting place to be. It is a specialised area of business, which on a surface level could be described as simply providing the shipping industry with the fuel that its vessels need. Yet, underneath this lies a far more complex web of overlapping sectors, namely the maritime, energy and the banking and finance sectors. Each of these sectors has its own set of rules, intricacies and common practices that impact the daily operation of the services provided in the overlapping zone between all of them. However, all too often, some of the parties involved in […]