BALANCING ACT
KEEPING AFLOAT IN A TOUGH BUNKER MARKET
Company Profile: Bunker One
With Bunker Holding’s global physical supply businesses now operating under a unified brand, Peter Zachariassen explains to Lesley Bankes-Hughes how the new Bunker One platform will provide a spring board to further build a physical presence world-wide.
Commercial Issues
By general consensus, 2017 was a year of pain – and very little gain – for suppliers and buyers alike. Adrian Tolson of 20|20 Marine Energy suggests that 2018 will be no less challenging.
The Bomin Group has undergone a period of strategic restructuring over the past year. Now, Jan Christensen explains how taking a pragmatic approach to market conditions has set the company on course to navigate the industry challenges ahead.
LNG
India is looking to position itself as an LNG bunkering hub. As Rhys Berry reports, preparations for developing an extensive inland waterway LNG infrastructure are well advanced.
Lesley Bankes-Hughes profiles developments at the Port of Zeebrugge, where close cooperation between industry stakeholers has enabled the Belgian port to position itself as a first mover in the transition to marine LNG.
Vincent Lagarrigue of Trelleborg Oil and Marine suggests that the use of cryogenic floating hoses as part of a universal transfer system may provide a flexible, multi-purpose solution to overcoming the LNG fuel delivery challenge.
Biofuels
A multi-fuel future lies ahead for the shipping industry. New fuel options are coming to the market and, as Rhys Berry discovers, biofuel companies are more than ready to face the competition.
Alternative Fuels
Poseidon Med II and Elemed are EU-supported initiatives which are focused on delivering a ‘cleaner’ marine fuel network in the East Mediterranean. Lesley Bankes-Hughes discusses progress on these projects with Anna Apostolopoulou and Panayiotis Mitrou of Lloyd’s Register.
Port Profile: Fujairah
Lesley Bankes-Hughes looks at how the world’s second largest bunkering hub is adapting to regional – and global – changes and challenges.
Global Port Trends
Ince & Co’s Ton van den Bosch explains that the growth of gateway hubs in emerging markets, increasing automation in port operations, and the ripple effect of China’s Belt and Road initiative are all key factors in the global port sector’s ongoing transformation.
Bunker Delivery Notes
Steve Simms of Simms Showers explains that a new BDN scheduled for introduction in 2019 raises a number of issues that suppliers and traders would do well to address – sooner rather than later.
Fuel Analysis
Acknowledging that analytical rigour is necessary, Albert Leyson of Drew Marine asks whether some testing of bunker fuels may now be more assiduous than is necessary.
Global Sulphur Regulations
As the 0.5% global sulphur cap approaches, the definition of a ‘compliant’ fuel would seem to be clear cut. However, as Michael Green of Intertek ShipCare discusses, this is a ‘grey area’ as the ‘compliant’ sulphur content of a fuel can have different parameters for suppliers and buyers.
Fuel Quality
Gunnar Kjeldsen of Bureau Veritas looks at the incidence of off-spec marine fuels in 2017 as highlighted in new VeriFuel statistical analysis.
Ship Agency Services
The ship agency market is becoming more price driven, mainly due to interpretations of a ‘competitive’ agency clause in many charter party agreements. Neil Godfrey of GAC Group, examines the implications for shipowners, charterers and ship agents.
Maritime Week Africa
This year’s Maritime Week Africa brought together some of the most important players in sub-Saharan Africa to share their insights into this hugely diverse and still-developing collection of bunker markets.
