World Bunkering Summer 2016

SUMMER 2016

SUMMER 2016

WORLD BUNKERING

ISO 8217 WORRIES Testing firm’s fears on new standard

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Changing the guard at World Bunkering Are the oil companies ready for 0.5%?

MEPC 69. What happened?

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Editor’s letter

Don’t blame IMO!

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s this issue of World Bunkering goes to press, contrasting views are being voiced as to what was achieved at the April meeting in London of the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC).

A lot was covered at MEPC, and we have a detailed report from IBIA’s new IMO representative, Unni Einemo (see page 27). Here I would like to focus on the reactions to the decision to put off further discussion of the move towards a possible global cap on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

IMO, in a statement, highlights MEPC’s approval of mandatory requirements for ships to record and report their fuel consumption, “in a move that sends a clear and positive signal about the Organization’s continuing commitment to climate change mitigation”.

The mandatory data collection system, IMO explains, is intended to be the first stage in a three-step process, in which analysis of the data collected would provide the basis for an objective, transparent and inclusive policy debate in the MEPC. This would allow a decision to be made on whether any further measures were needed to enhance energy efficiency and address greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping.

If so, IMO says, proposed policy options would then be considered.

Two environmental lobby groups, Transport & Environment and Seas At Risk, have a very different take on what happened. In a joint statement they say that the meeting “was hopelessly split in a divisive debate, with most of the so-called BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) opposing the call from Pacific island nations, developed countries and much World Bunkering Summer 2016

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of the industry to develop a post-Paris work plan on what emissions cuts would be needed”.

The statement says: “The IMO’s new secretary-general was forced to intervene, appealing to governments not to kill the post-Paris discussion, while France warned that a failure to advance the plan would mean the UN shipping body would be ‘held up to ridicule on the very day the Paris agreement was being signed in New York’. In an extraordinary move that repudiated the call for action from its island neighbours, the Cook Islands aligned with China against developing a plan. The meeting broke up with no agreement, and the entire issue was put off until the next meeting of the IMO’s environment committee in October.”

John Maggs, senior policy adviser at environmental NGO Seas At Risk, said: “The IMO has fallen flat on its face in the first test of its determination to tackle greenhouse gas emissions after Paris, unable even to agree to develop a work plan for reducing ship emissions. Despite a large majority of member states and industry supporting action, the IMO proved unable to translate this into progress, instead allowing itself to be held hostage by a handful of BRICS and the maverick and increasingly isolated Cook Islands.”

These strong words are mainly aimed at IMO, more or less implying that the institution itself had failed. This has echoes of repeated suggestions in recent years that another organisation, less closely associated with shipping, should be in charge of imposing CO2 reductions.

Blaming IMO may play well in some quarters but is totally misguided. The reason no agreement was reached was that the BRICS countries balked at going down the road towards a CO2 cap. They would have taken the same view in any other forum.

Other lobbying bodies have also expressed disappointment.

The Sustainable Shipping Initiative (SSI), a coalition of companies from across the shipping industry, says: “Despite some progress, the lack of a definitive outcome puts significant pressure on MEPC 70 in October 2016, and increases the threat of reduction targets being taken out of the shipping industry’s hands.”

But, again, the same governments that were against progress towards a cap, at least for now, at IMO, would be represented in any alternative framework.

The response from Simon Bennett, International Chamber of Shipping director of policy and external relations, would seem a reasonable one. He says: “We don’t see it so negatively. Agreement on a mandatory CO2 collection system is a major achievement, and it has been agreed there will be a working group on next steps at the next session.”

He adds: “To be fair to governments that have concerns about immediately responding to Paris, they have agreed to the ‘three-step process’, which requires the CO2 data system to be up and running before further measures are adopted. For our part, once the industry has agreed the detail, its needs to set out what an IMO intended commitment might entail, so that developing nations can see that it will not damage their interests.”

As ever, this issue of World Bunkering is full of reports of the industry contributing to reducing its carbon footprint. That is all to the good. Like it or not, shipping will have to work within a CO2 emissions cap eventually. When that will be is up to the politicians, but the industry will have to lobby hard to ensure IMO stays in charge of global maritime environmental policy.

David Hughes Editor 1

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SUMMER 2016

SUMMER 2016

SUMMER 2016

Publisher: Constructive Media Editor: David Hughes editor@mar-media.com

Deputy Editor: Sandra Speares WORLD BUNKERING

sandra.speares@mar-media.com

ISO 8217 WORRIES

Project Director: David Scott

Testing firm’s fears on new standard

david.scott@mar-media.com

Constructive Media Brecon House Mamhilad Park Estate Pontypool NP4 0HZ Tel: 01495 740050 Email: ibia@constructivemedia.co.uk www.worldbunkering.com

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Changing the guard at World Bunkering Are the oil companies ready for 0.5%?

MEPC 69. What happened?

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The views expressed in World Bunkering are not necessarily those of IBIA, or the publishers unless expressly stated to be such. IBIA disclaims any responsibility for advertisements contained in this magazine and has no legal responsibility to deal with them.

The responsibility for advertisements rests solely with the publisher. World Bunkering is published by Constructive Media on behalf of IBIA and is supplied to members as part of their annual membership package.

On behalf of: IBIA Ltd 4th Floor 50 Liverpool Street London EC2M 4PR UK Tel: +44 (0) 20 3397 3850 Fax: +44 (0) 20 3397 3865 E-mail: ibia@ibia.net Website: www.ibia.net

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SUMMER 2016

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Editor’s letter Chairman’s introduction Chief Executive’s report Asia report Africa report Ghana Letter Interview IBIA training New members Events report IBIA Dinner Changing of the guard Noticeboard

IBIA REPORTS 1 5 7 8 9 11 12 15 16 19 20 23 23

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Industry news Environment Oil companies Fuel managemnet Scrubbers

FEATURES 24 27 29 31 33

GEOGRAPHICAL FOCUS Eastern Mediterranean 35 Americas 42 LNG Testing Russian update Innovation Legal Equipment and services Review: IBC Preview: Posidonia Diary

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Project1_Layout 1 18/04/2016 23:35 Page 1

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Chairman’s welcome

Moving rapidly ahead A first chairman’s welcome from Robin Meech, who took over the position in April

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t is a great pleasure and an honour to be appointed as chairman of IBIA, especially at a time when the association is really moving rapidly ahead. This is mainly as a result of good stewardship by the board and the growing effectiveness of the secretariat. This is not only happening in the new London HQ but also in Singapore and Southern Africa, where the IBIA’s spheres of influence continue to grow. This is seen as a prelude to accelerating the association’s impact by providing greater value to more sectors of our industry. This, in turn, it is hoped, will attract more members, furthering the aims of IBIA. We are looking to grow elsewhere, with a focus on the Americas and also Asia, which is the largest and fastest growing market. Under the stewardship of Simon Neo, our new regional manager and a respected member of the bunker community, it is planned to penetrate Asian markets outside Singapore, where IBIA, often in conjunction with the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), is providing a wide range of support to the membership, including training, raising standards and operating practices.

IBIA is increasing its influence at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and other national and international forums by providing balanced contributions to debates reflecting the bunker industry’s perspective on such issues as fuel quality, the 0.5% sulphur fuels availability debate and the introduction of best practice.

We are also in the forefront of efforts to improve compliance with emission regulations. This latter effort is in conjunction with Trident Alliance, an association of bunker consumers lobbying for better compliance, engendering a level commercial playing field so as to improve the environment.

This is another example of IBIA becoming of more value to members in the consuming sector, which, in turn, strengthens

Outgoing chairman Jens Jorgensen (left) and Robin Meech

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Robin Meech addressing the 2016 IBIA Dinner

our facility to provide a rounded view reflecting all aspects of bunkering.

Under the leadership of our chief executive, a former port captain, IBIA has established the Port Charter. Its membership already includes the three largest and better organised bunker ports, which, with IBIA’s support, will encourage the transfer of their established standards and operating practices to smaller ports, assisting them in adopting world accepted standards for their own use. This will increase their attractiveness to bunker buyers, while improving safety and environmental protection and the commercial environment.

I would like to thank our members who took the time to complete the survey, providing us with insight into what you want from your association. One key message is that you want to improve ethics and integrity in bunkering to achieve a more attractive image than the current one. We are sometimes seen as a wayward business, often accepting under-delivery of 2% as the norm as well as delivery of poor quality, which is not always the result of unintended blending inaccuracies. It is hoped that buyers, owners and charterers realise the benefits of both sides improving their act.

I look forward, as your chairman, to this and the other challenges with some trepidation but also with enthusiasm and optimism emanating from the capabilities of both your board and the secretariat. I also look forward meeting even more of you this year and helping to channel your views into further improving IBIA.

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Oil Marketing

& Trading International (Europe) SA MARINE FUELS

in UAE

Office 2001, Saba Tower 1, JLT DUBAI, UAE Tel: 00971 4 4350500 Fax: 00971 4 4350505 E-mail: bunkers@oil-marketing.com

12 Kithiron Street, Alimos 17455 ATHENS, GREECE Tel : +30 2109609860 Fax : +30 2109609861 E-mail: bunkers@oil-marketing.com E-mail: ceuta@oil-marketing.com E-mail: jamaica@oil-marketing.com

8 Eu Tong Sen Street, #18-83 The Central 059818, SINGAPORE Tel: 0065 6222 4028 Fax:0065 6222 4027 E-mail: singapore@oil-marketing.com

WEB : W W W. OIL-MA RK E T IN G . COM

Bunkering company TransOilBunker Co., Ltd 53 of., st. Aleutskaya 11, Vladivostok, 690001, Russia Tel: +7 (423) 2642-449 Tel/Fax: +7 (423) 2642-448 Tel/Fax: +7 (423) 2610-537 Mobile: +7 914 704 2856 E-mail: bktob2006@yandex.ru

BUNKERING IN THE PORTS OF RUSSIAN FAR EAST We supply vessels with the following oil products: MGO / IFO-30 / IFO-120 / IFO-180 / IFO-380

bunkering in the ports of: VLADIVOSTOK / NAKHODKA / VOSTOCHNY / SLAVYANKA / ZARUBINO / POSIET / KOZMINO

WWW.TRANSOILBUNKER.ORG

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T

he start of the year is always a busy time for the association ‘out on the road’, and this year is no exception. In the space of a few weeks, IBIA has been present at conferences in the Middle East, US, Singapore, and Europe.

In addition, we held our AGM in London and also held regional general meetings in Asia and Africa. And we mustn’t forget our highly successful annual dinners in both London and Singapore.

Overall, the association has had firsthand contact and interaction with thousands of people across the marine industry. Looking ahead, the events calendar is equally busy, with the pace of contact being kept up over the next few months.

The focus this year is on improving global bunkering practices, the fair enforcement of bunker regulations, growing the membership and delivering greater value to our members.

Organization (IMO) representative, media and communications manager.

The objective of this appointment is not only to deliver improved quality of information to our members but also to enable greater interaction with the marine industry, as well as building relationships and engaging more fully with the industry.

AGM

The year started with our AGM in the first week of February, where it was announced that two new board members would join the team in April.

They are key names in the industry – Bob Sanguinetti, chief executive of Gibraltar Port Authority, and Henrik Zederkof, chief executive of Dan-Bunkering. A big thank you to those board members standing down, Jens Maul Jørgensen, and Dilip Moody.

The association continues to go from strength to strength, with further growth reported in membership numbers, now standing at over 780 organisations and members spanning 80 countries. We have also delivered a range of enhanced benefits, and there are plans for more.

Increased communication

Building on success

A central component of our strategy is improving our communications to our members and, to this end, we reported in April the appointment of industry ‘veteran’ Unni Einemo, highly renowned as a marine fuel and shipping industry journalist and analyst. Unni will take up a newly created full-time role with IBIA as its International Maritime

Education continues to be a core component of the association, and a number of initiatives are taking place on this front. The Singapore office has reviewed its courses and i n t ro d u c e d

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Captain Peter Hall, chief executive, International Bunker Industry Association

The future

In our previous edition, we announced a change to our work group structure and membership survey. In May, we are holding a ‘blue sky’ strategy day to discuss further developing the association. This will produce a roadmap to guide the association into its next season.

Association growth

some new ones to equip the industry in the region. It has also developed a Code of Practice for Bunker Surveying, the draft of which was launched during Singapore Maritime week. It is hoped that this will mark the start of a more comprehensive and international bunkering code for best practice.

The education and training work group is currently liaising with training institutes, looking at including bunkering as a ‘bolt-on’ knowledge component to STCW training courses.

Also, there is a possibility of developing information for shipping companies with regard to delivering bunkers and onboard handling.

Chief executive’s report

Driving forward IBIA’s expansion

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IBIA Asia report Working with industry partners IBIA is well placed to assist the development of innovations such as mass flow meters

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BIA in Asia held its Gala Dinner on Thursday, 21 April 2016 at the historic Raffles Hotel as part of Singapore Maritime Week. The guest of honour was Capt. Segar, Assistant Chief Executive of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA).

Rahul Choudhuri, Vice Chairman of IBIA in Asia, Chief Operating Officer Asia, Middle East & Africa welcomed him and reflected on a call for greater collaboration and industry leadership that had been made at the influential Singapore Maritime Lecture earlier in the week. He commented that IBIA, with its global status and local presence, was well placed to provide that collaboration and leadership, one example being the position that the organisation is taking on Mass Flow Meters.

He described how IBIA is now working together with industry partners to come up with a Standard Operating Procedure for Surveyors. This will allow surveyors not only to embrace new technology, but also to play a role in building trust in the day to day usage of mass flow meters.

Over time, refuelling a vessel will become synonymous with a car filling up confidently at a gas station.

Singapore is pioneering good bunkering practice and the adoption of these new procedures will deliver huge competi-

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tive advantages with other ports certainly following.

MPA’s Capt. Segar spoke about the previous year, saying that despite the industry challenges Singapore had retained its position as the world’s leading bunkering port. Despite economic uncertainty, 45.2 million tonnes of bunkers, an all-time record high, was delivered in 2015 and bunker sales reached 11.8 million tonnes in Q1 2016, a 11 percent increase year-on-year. He added that this achievement had only been possible because of IBIA members’ strong support and efforts to move the industry forward.

Capt. Segar also highlighted and thanked IBIA members for their active support of a different MPA initiatives.

IBIA’s participation in the work of the Technical Committee for Bunkering, under the purview of SPRING Singapore, has contributed significantly to bunkering standards and development work in Singapore, including the review of the SS 600, SS 524 and most recently, the development of the Technical Reference for Mass Flow Meter Bunkering.

He went on to say that the MPA is committed to continue raising bunkering standards to safeguard Singapore’s position as a premier bunkering port of choice. There are now 73 bunker tankers approved for mass flow meter delivery

for marine fuel oil and the port is seeing close to a million metric tonnes of bunkers being delivered via MPA-approved mass flow meters every month.

Furthermore, work has started on Mass Flow Metering for marine gas oil.

The initial testing had been encouraging and work is now underway to implement MFM for marine gas oil deliveries as early as 2017, he said.

Capt. Segar added that MPA is now working towards introducing an electronic bunker delivery note (E-BDN) mobile application which will allow near real-time transfer of bunkering information. The industry feedback has been positive so far, and field-testing will commence in the second half of this year.

Capt. Segar concluded by saying that the bunkering industry in Singapore has grown significantly over the years and that he is confident that with the various stakeholders working together, the industry will continue to thrive, grow and most importantly remain competitive in the years to come.

Singapore Maritime Week (SMW) is the leading maritime event in Singapore.

Driven by the MPA, SMW brings together the international maritime community for a week of conferences, dialogues, exhibitions and social events in celebration of all things maritime.

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IBIA Africa

Representing Africa The development of IBIA throughout Africa and a new sub-branch in Mauritius were the topics addressed at the branch AGM. Tahra Sergeant reports

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BIA Africa held its 2015/16 Africa AGM in Cape Town recently.

Kindly hosted by bunkering service provider SABT in its new offices on the foreshore, there was a good representation of local members.

While we would always encourage more members to attend, the small group allowed for discussion of the needs of the local South African market and the development of the branch from one that is South Africa-centric to one representing Africa as a whole.

Patrick Holloway, a partner at Webber Wentzel and a member of both the IBIA board and the Africa executive committee, opened with the highlights of the year.

These included the success story of the Africa branch growing from having one of the smallest memberships to the second largest within IBIA. Africa now accounts for 18% of the total membership.

He also recognised the hard work that has been put in place by our

We were delighted to welcome the Mauritius committee to the AGM. Members of the committee are as follows: HONORARY CHAIRPERSON DANIELLE WONG NG, consultant, Celero Group CHAIRMAN NEERISH CHOORAMUN, centre manager, Celero Training VICE-CHAIR NICOLAS RICHARD managing partner, Juristconsult SECRETARY ASHVIN RAMDENEE marine manager, Vivo Energy Mauritius

IBIA Africa AGM held in Cape Town, South Africa

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TREASURER VIKASH BONOMAULLY analyst, Ministry of Finance and Economic Development

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IBIA Africa

The purpose of the forum is to: • Highlight regional/African supply

trends • Bring together the industry in and

around Africa • Provide an opportunity for industry

to engage with the port authority and government • Promote South African bunkering ports as marine services hubs.

The forum topics will include: • The regional bunkering scene, plus From left to right: Peter Syrris (Amoil), Yvette De Klerk (Maritime Training Enterprise), Tahra Sergeant (IBIA) and Bez Ramini (Amoil)

•

• •

•

From left to right: Patrice Maury, Managing Director – Celero Group; Seeven Pillay, Person In Charge (General Agency Business Unit) - Mauritius Shipping Corporation Ltd; Winson Chan, Marine Manager - Mauritian Eagle Insurance; Danielle Wong, Honorary Chair, IBIA (Mauritius) Sub Branch; Ashvin Ramdenee, Marine & Aviation Sales Manager - VIVO Energy Mauritius Limited; Bruno Nalletamby, Manager - Marine & Administration, Swan Insurance; Meenakshi Bhirugnath-Bhookun (Mrs.), Ministry of Ocean Economy, Marine Resources, Fisheries, Shipping and Outer Island; Kamal Mohanty, Laboratory Manager, SGS Mauritius; Neerish Chooramun, Chairman - IBIA (Mauritius) Sub Branch

executive committee, whose efforts have enabled this growth to occur.

As usual at the beginning of a new financial year, IBIA Africa has made some small changes to the executive committee.

Serving on the IBIA Africa executive committee are: Patrick Holloway, Webber Wentzel; Paul Maclons, SMIT Amandla Marine; Professor Trevor Jones, University of KwaZulu-Natal; Grant Bairstow, Vivo Energy; Shelton Thorburn, Amoil Pty Ltd; Danielle Wong Ng, Celero, Mauritius.

We also recognised the departure of Veryan Bell as IBIA Africa treasurer.

Veryan has been an active member of IBIA for many years, and we wish her well in her new home in Dubai.

The Africa branch is also very pleased to announce the formal

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development of the sub-branch in Mauritius, which has now formed its own committee.

The purpose of this committee is to engage with the local industry and feed back into the Africa branch for support in training and development for the region.

While the AGM took a look into what had happened in 2014/15, we advised the members of the planned growth in Africa in 2016, which includes the development of training in both Ghana and Mauritius.

Basic bunkering courses are to be run in Cape Town, Durban and Mauritius. At the AGM, it was also announced that the second IBIA Africa regional forum is to be held in Cape Town on 15-16 September 2016, at the Portswood Hotel, Granger Bay.

industry trends in the rest of the world What’s happening with both regulation and quality in the fuel supply chain The fuel quality chain and the port charter An up-to-date look at the bunkering business, with regional bunker suppliers explaining their operations Short presentations by principal bunker suppliers, providing an overview of capability in the region.

The AGM closed on a positive note, with members acknowledging the developments and changes that have taken place in the branch over the past two years.

They agreed that the continued growth of the branch relies heavily on member participation.

In particular, we need members to volunteer to join working groups; participate in the IBIA 2016 regional forum in Cape Town in September; put forward potential new members; and to feed back to the Africa office any news, requirements from members and potential areas of interest.

Should you require any further information regarding the Africa events contact: Tahra Sergeant IBIA REGIONAL MANAGER +27 21 7905318 or tahra.sergeant@ibia.net

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he Ghana Oil Company Ltd, GOIL, on behalf of the Ghana Bunkering Services, GBS, refers to your article “Challenging Times” authored by John Rickards, on “what is happening in the West African bunker scene”, and published in the Winter edition of ‘World Bunkering’ Magazine and wishes to assure the Ghana Bunkering Community that it remains committed to developing the sector and has the capacity to service the burgeoning industry.

GBS wishes to put it on record that, it has at no time anywhere stated its inability or demonstrated its incapacity to deliver quality service to cherished customers.

The following facts are verifiable; GOIL remains the leader in the Bunkering business. The Ghana Bunkering Services which started operations in 1969 is currently owned by TOTAL PETROLEUM GHANA LTD and GHANA OIL COMPANY LIMITED; it is a fact that TOTAL is still a partner of GBS and has 49% shares, while GOIL has 51%. While it must be noted that SHELL has left the consortium, GBS continues to be the main supplier of Marine Gas Oil, (MGO) to fishing vessels at the Tema Fishing Harbour.

Again, GBS is not quitting the local bunkering sector nor is it running it aground. It is instructive to note that

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GBS has recently signed a one million Euro contract with ORSAM, a French company, to rehabilitate and upgrade the existing facilities at GBS at the Tema fishing harbor. GBS is therefore in a quandary as to why conclusions and doubt can be cast about the capacity of the consortium to deliver to clients.

In line with GOIL’s commitment to meet existing and anticipated demand for bunkers at Takoradi, GOIL has invested 15-million dollars to construct a modern MGO Depot inside the port of Takoradi. This facility will store a maximum of 13,500m3 MGO at the port. With the completion of the Project in December 2016, most vessels will now be bunkered via pipeline at the port. ‘The existing practice of Bulk Road Vehicles (BRVS) delivering bunkers to ships will cease’, stated the Bunkering Services Manager, Lawrence Okantey.

GOIL and the Ghana Bunkering Services admit that there are challenges in the sector albeit the huge investment outlay involved. However there are no question marks regarding GBS’ reliability to service vessels now or in the future.

GOIL and the GBS remain focused and committed to investing more in the local bunkering industry and critically, work to shepherd the growth of the sector.

GOIL and GBS wish to state that it is available to provide more information regarding their bunkering operations in Ghana.

According to GOIL, the information as claimed by the writer that the contents were picked from the website of the company is unfortunate as there is no search message on the website.

Gyamfi Amanquah

Bunkering Manager, Ghana Oil Company

Statement from Ghana Oil Company

Ghana Bunkering Services (GBS) investing more in the sector

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Interview

New man at the helm Robin Meech has recently taken over as chairman of IBIA. Sandra Speares talks to him about some of the challenges facing the bunker industry and how IBIA is responding

A

sked for his view of the bunkering industry, IBIA’s incoming chairman, Robin Meech, paints a fluid scene. The picture, he says, is evolving – like any industry, there are political, environmental and pricing factors that shape the scene. And he is quick to point out the need to “take into account the views of our members, which represent all aspects of the fuel supply chain”.

“Bunkering today,” he says, “is not only buyers and sellers but also finance, insurance legal and ports, plus supporting companies. All have had a significant influence on the picture.

“It is a strength of IBIA that we have representation from all these sectors, and, indeed, IBIA is becoming more balanced in its membership demographics. Once, IBIA was seen as a supplier-dominated association, but today we are truly representative of the industry as a whole.

“This is helping with our lobbying on bunker issues at the International Maritime Organization (IMO), providing input into improving bunkering guidelines for adoption by ports, or making concrete input to International Organization for Standardization (ISO) committees. With a very much rounded view, we can really be the voice of the industry.

“Turning to the tough issues that lie ahead, we have the advent of the global sulphur cap expected in 2020 and the consequential implications of fuel integrity when you have varying

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emissions limits and you use different fuels to meet these. Then physically getting bunker fuel from a tank in a terminal to a bunker tank onboard a vessel and through the ship’s system for use in the engine is fraught with challenges. It requires, monitoring, sampling, sufficient tankage (for segregation) and good information for the practices required for handling and switching. That is only dealing with residual fuel oil and distillate. When you introduce hybrid fuels and other alternatives such as liquefied natural gas (LNG) as fuel, the complexity of utilisation significantly increases.”

IBIA has a number of working groups, and Meech says the organisation wants to involve as many willing participants to share their experience with the membership and the wider industry.

Overall, the aim is to increase the value of IBIA to its members and enable IBIA to become a go-to place of reference for good practice and technical support.

IBIA is not a trade association for suppliers only, he stresses. It is a professional association and “we have greater strength because we give a balanced view. When we say something, it is not just good for suppliers, it is good for the industry”. IBIA has a physical presence in Africa and Asia, and will probably expand elsewhere in order to provide the service that global shipping is looking for.

So what happens if there are different viewpoints within IBIA as to how to tackle a particular issue?

He replies: “We have opinion, perception and fact; IBIA’s role is to transcend these players, bringing the diversity of the association to agreement. It is the purpose of the work groups to look at the varying views, bring together opinion, support it with data and science, and come to a balanced view that addresses perceptions, informs and educates.

“If one took something like fatty acid methyl ester (FAME), ISO is setting the standard, and IBIA’s view would be to look at the science and make sure the issues involved were understood and a decision taken on how to handle them.

“This may take pooling information from shipping associations and the industry. It will certainly require monitoring by the testing companies, analysing the information and sharing the data.

“A challenge like this is bringing as much forensic information together to deliver the best answer at this point in time. It is inevitable that an evolving answer will be achieved, as the fuelproducing process is not constant. Just look at how many versions we have had with ISO8217. IBIA provides input into ISO and has provided the same for the gas code.

“Clearly, issues like the advent of the global sulphur cap in 2020, which is expected to result not just in high prices but in compliance problems, are of concern to IBIA members.”

One area, Meech says, where the association could be active is in training

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more clarity about the legal framework and areas of jurisdiction. IBIA will be working with the Trident Alliance to highlight our points of concern with the regulatory authorities and to find a realistic and enforceable solution for both industry and the environment.”

The first aim is to try and get changes to Annex VI of the MARPOL marine pollution convention, and notably to regulation 14. This states: “The sulphur content of any fuel in a ship’s bunker tank at any time shall not exceed 0.5% by weight after 2020 unless the ship can demonstrate that it has such fittings, materials, appliances or apparatus, including blending capability or other procedures, alternative fuel oils or compliance methods that are at least as effective in terms of emissions reduction as that required by this annex.”

According to Meech, over 70% of bunkers are consumed by ships registered with open registries, and there is a question mark as to how these will enforce the global cap. IBIA believes it would be better for coastal states to enforce the rules by warning ships visiting their ports that they would be breaking the law if they could not show that they had enough low-sulphur fuel to reach their destination. The flag state of the vessel would thus be immaterial, as it would be a case of whether the ship complied with the terms of Annex VI. IBIA is taking the issue to IMO with the Trident Alliance and is seeking to ensure that the proposal is in a form acceptable not only to shipowners but to bunker suppliers. This is a way of improving compliance and the environment.

Meech says that IBIA’s membership is fairly evenly distributed between the different parts of the industry, although buyers represent only 5%.

He believes that this figure needs to be boosted. Giving a balanced view for both buyer and sellers is important, and, by doing that, Meech believes the number of bunker buyers with whom the association is connected will increase. “We have to remember that somewhere near half of bunkers are bought by charterers”. The important thing is to offer help to people.

IBIA has good relationships with other trade associations, such

as the International Association of Independent Tanker Owners (Intertanko), the International Association of Dry Cargo Shipowners (Intercargo) and the International Parcel Tankers Association (IPTA). IBIA has to ensure that it is offering good information from its working groups, whether on legal issues or technical.

Providing information to charterers can in some respects be provided through strong contacts with shipowners, as well as through national shipowners’ associations and international ones like the International Chamber of Shipping.

Meech sees his role as an independent as meaning that he can see both sides of the equation without affiliation to any particular part of the industry. Meech also believes that IBIA has a role to play in accelerating the decision-making process as a means of overcoming criticisms of shipping regulatory bodies as being too slow to implement change. “We are going to be giving a balanced view that we hope can be accepted by all sides.

IBIA… is a source of a huge amount of experience. The people in working groups have to take a balanced view.

Change will have negative impacts, but that does not mean one can ignore it for that reason, he says.

One IBIA initiative he mentions is tackling the situation in ports and IBIA’s role as a catalyst for bring ports around the world up to the highest standard of bunker operations. IBIA’s Port Charter was launched in 2014.

Meech says that IBIA has already got the highest-standard players onboard and that they are willing to share their experience. Many ports do not have such good operating conditions and licensing as the likes of Rotterdam, Singapore and Gibraltar and are keen to improve their offer.

Licensing, safety and the mass flow meter issue are just three areas, along with “building the reputation of the port as a good place to bunker”. IBIA has a role to play that could involve training and information exchange.

The organisation can act as a catalyst and ports can become members of IBIA. “We are targeting ports that want to improve bunkering, both from a safety and commercial point of view”.

Interview

crew on issues such as how bunkers are received onboard and safety. IBIA has a history of providing onboard learning for crews and shipping companies through its bunkering videos.

“It time to update these and address concerns about how fuel is blended or mixed onboard and fuel switching issues.

While these may be owners’ concerns, they are areas in which IBIA can help.

“Through our work groups, we are addressing this matter. The education and training work group is working with training institutes. This includes getting bunkering into training courses, as knowledge of bunkering in the shipping industry as a whole is relatively limited.

If you are delivering bunkers to a ship that is not qualified to handle them, there should be repercussions. Providing training to crews, giving both suppliers and buyers protection is exactly what IBIA is all about.”

Another area where IBIA can help the industry, Meech says, is compliance.

Ensuring that ships are compliant with sulphur rules is not that easy, given that some may transit an emission control area (ECA) only briefly, burning highersulphur fuels most of the time and ignoring the sulphur cap.

Fines can range from hundreds of dollars to millions, depending on the jurisdiction. But views differ on how good compliance with ECA rules is.

For vessels that are doing a short transit through an ECA, the cost of burning low-sulphur product may be relatively insignificant. But, in the event of a global cap, where ships would have to burn low sulphur from, say, Ras Tanura to Rotterdam, the cost would be substantial and would have a major impact when bidding on freight contracts, as it would be much cheaper to make the transit if one did not comply.

“A level playing field in compliance is very important for all,” Meech says.

IBIA has joined forces with shipping industry initiative the Trident Alliance to work on the issue of enforcement of the global sulphur cap. When the strategic partnership was announced, Meech commented: “At the moment, it is proposed that the flag states will be responsible for enforcing the global cap.

We foresee problems with this approach and believe that there needs to be

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Individual Membership • Work groups that tackle emerging issues and offer advice.

• Regional networking events, that are both social and inform on emerging issues.

• Access to IBIA training courses and events at discounted rates • Discounts to industry events.

• Discounted publications and IBIA specific publications that are down loadable.

Why Join IBIA? Are you a bunkering professional Involved in the supply of bunkers to vessels Want a direct line to IMO decision making Want network access to over 700 professionals and their organisations Access to industry experts on a range of subjects Recognition for your expertise

• Opportunity to participate in IBIA work groups and governance • Networking: member rates at the IBIA Annual Convention, and the ability to buy tickets for the IBIA Annual Dinner during IP week each February. Discounted or free attendance at IBIA forums around the world.

• As a member you have access to various industry organisations including IMO, where you voice is heard.

• Access to our network of members in your region and across the globe.

• Individual subscription to our quarterly magazine World Bunkering, that details the latest information in technology, regulations, the markets and other developments.

• Access to technical information and Support of industry experts.

• Arbitration and Resolution service, IBIA provides an arbitration and resolution service for its members which is very cost effective to mediate disputes between members.

For further information visit our website.

PLUS NEW BENEFITS: • New member benefits.

• A discounted travel club that offers cost effective flights.

• Multiple year discounts 15% discount for 3 years membership, (Paid in one instalment) – Guarantee no membership increases for the next 3 years.

• Meeting location in Central London, with secretarial services (at cost effective rates).

Join today online at

www.ibia.net/membership

• Plus new benefits to be announced in the coming weeks “Careers and Job information”.

• Further information on member benefits is available on our website.

Corporate Membership ALL OF THE ABOVE PLUS

Membership Options Individual: £200.00 p.a Corporate: £995.00 p.a

(e) ibia@ibia.net (t) +44 (0)20 3397 3850

WB Summer 2016 Book.indb 14

• Register up to two other offices.

• Discounts on IBIA training courses (For employees).

• Discounts to IBIA Events (For employees).

• Discounts to selected Industry events (For employees).

• Discounts on advertising with World Bunkering.

• Book tables at the IBIA Annual dinner.

• Use of IBIA Logo on stationary.

11/05/2016 09:02

IBIA training project

IBIA: Cultivator of minds An update on the Training and Education Working Group by IBIA Board member Michael Green

J

oseph Addison, the English essayist, politician and co-founder of The Spectator magazine, once said: “What sculpture is to a block of marble, education is to a human soul.”

This sentiment is echoed in less reverential terms by American writer and critic Logan Pearsall Smith, who famously said: “Uncultivated minds are not full of wild flowers, like uncultivated fields. Villainous weeds grow in them, and they are the haunt of toads.”

In an attempt to prevent the bunker industry being overrun by villainous weeds and toads, a new initiative is being developed to provide a greater interaction between IBIA and educational institutions. The interaction looks to promote a wider understanding of the bunkering industry to augment the academic approach taken by colleges and universities when shaping future captains of industry.

From the outset, one of the key values of IBIA has been to educate and inform, with training being a core value of the association. IBIA currently offers a number of training courses that enable individuals to gain a greater insight into the industry. However, in the past, the focus of these courses has

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always been for existing professionals who have recently become involved with the bunker sector.

In looking to engage with educational institutions, IBIA hopes to provide students the benefits offered to all IBIA members in sharing the breadth of the collective knowledge and experience of the association. To encourage a continuing relationship with IBIA, a student membership scheme will be run in conjunction with the training courses. This will allow students to maintain links with IBIA during their academic development and carry on their relationship with IBIA throughout their professional career.

Current IBIA chairman Robin Meech likened the new initiative to the Jesuit philosophy “Give me the child until he is seven and I will give you the man”, which heralded their reputation as educators.

The first tentative steps have been taken in conjunction with South Tyneside College’s South Shields Marine School. The school was established in South Shields in 1861, using a trust created by Dr Thomas Masterman Winterbottom, a former surgeon-general in Sierra Leone. It provides courses and programmes that

cover the whole spectrum of marine education and nautical sciences.

Students study a variety of topics, including navigation, operations, marine and electrical engineering, communications and catering. The school caters for all levels of education and training, from deck and engine maritime apprenticeships, officer trainee programmes through to senior officer certificates and up to honours degree level.

Using South Shields Marine School as the ‘guinea pig’ for the initiative will allow the Training and Education Working Group to establish a series of courses that can be used in educational institutions the world over. The work done so far will be continued during 2016, and a number of trial presentations and training days will be undertaken with a variety of students, all at different stages of their educational journey.

This approach will hopefully give the students the best possible opportunity to progress with their studies.

It will also provide a natural growth in IBIA membership and limit the propagation of those uncultured minds that harbour villainous weeds.

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New members New Members CORPORATE BUNKER SUPPLIER Tata Mo BRIGHTOIL SINGAPORE tata.mo@bwoil.com PO S&D Mariana Gornés PORT AUTHORITY OF TENERIFE CANARY ISLANDS direccion@puertosdetenerife.org BUNKER SUPPLIER Jaba Tarimanashvili MALIANNO HOLDING INC. GEORGIA operations@malianno.com BUNKER SUPPLIER Gordon Debono PETRO PLUS LTD MALTA kurt@petroplus.com.mt AGENT Tim Gifford GRAYPEN GROUP LIMITED UNITED KINGDOM TGifford@Graypen.com TRADER San Hua Yang VERMONT UM SHIPPING PTE LTD SINGAPORE

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INDIVIDUAL BUNKER TRADER Ilja Krivoshein BUNKER PARTNER OY ESTONIA ilja@bunkerpartner.eu SERVICE Stephen Puffett INCO SHIPS PTY LTD AUSTRALIA spuffett@incoships.com.au BUNKER SUPPLIER James Stapleton TROPIC OIL USA jstapleton@tropicoil.com BUNKER SUPPLIER Momoh Jimah Oyarekhua OMSA UNITED KINGDOM mjoyarekhua@omsaservices.com BUNKER SUPPLIER Robin Lloyd QUADRISE INTERNATIONAL LTD UNITED KINGDOM r.lloyd@quadrisefuels.com SURVEYOR Abdul Ghani VERITAS PETROLEUM SINGAPORE abdul.ghani@v-p-s.com

ASSOCIATE SERVICE Anna Laesson TRIDENT ALLIANCE NORWAY anna.larsson@2wglobal.com World Bunkering Spring 2016

11/05/2016 09:02

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11/05/2016 09:02

London

JANUARY

Gibraltar

Singapore

Cape Town

2016 EVENTS PROGRAMME Cocktail Evening - Singapore, Asia

FEBRUARY 8th 8th 8th 10th MARCH 18th 18th 21st 23rd APRIL 12th 12th 18th

Board Meeting - Naval Club, London, United Kingdom AGM - Naval Club, London, United Kingdom IBIA Dinner - Grosvenor House Hotel, London, United Kingdom IBIA Basic Bunkering Course and (Seminar) - London, United Kingdom IBIA in Asia Golf Day - Singapore, Asia IBIA in Asia Forum - Singapore, Asia IBIA in the Americas Membership - Forum and Drinks - Connecticut, United States of America Membership luncheon Drinks - Houston, United States of America IBIA in Africa AGM and Exco Meeting - Cape Town, South Africa IBIA in Africa - Members Dinner - Cape Town, South Africa Mauritius members meeting - Port Louis, Mauritius IBIA Board Meeting - London, United Kingdom IBIA in Asia Dinner - Singapore, Asia

MAY Maritime Week Americas (BBC) - Fort Lauderdale, United States of America IBIA (American Members Lunch) - Fort Lauderdale, United States of America JUNE 7th 23rd 27th - 1st July 27th - 1st July JULY 21st

Membership Luncheon - Ghana, Africa Mediterranean seminar - Posidonia - Athens, Greece IBIA in Africa Membership Drinks - Cape Town, South Africa Basic Bunkering Course - Ghana, Africa Maritime Week Africa - Ghana, Africa IBIA in Africa Membership Drinks - Durban, South Africa London Forum - London, United Kingdom

AUGUST SEPTEMBER 6th - 9th 13th 15th/16th

IBIA Europe Forum at SMM - Hamburg, Germany Basic Bunkering Course - Cape Town, South Africa IBIA in Africa Forum: Cape Town - Cape Town, South Africa IMO Lunch - London, United Kingdom Basic Bunkering Course - Aracon Rotterdam Membership Luncheon - Houston, United States of America IMO Luncheon - London, United Kingdom

OCTOBER SIBCON - Singapore, Asia IBIA Golf Day - Singapore, Asia IBIA Basic Bunker Course - Durban, South Africa NOVEMBER 7th

African Ports Evolution - Durban, South Africa IBIA Convention - Gibraltar IBIA in Africa End of Year Drinks - Cape Town, South Africa

DECEMBER IBIA Members drinks - London, United Kingdom

* For up to date details, please consult the website.

TRAINING IBIA Asia carries out a variety of training courses throughout the year Monthly ‘Basic Bunker Training to SS600 Standard’ and ‘Advanced Bunker Training’ courses result in Cargo Officer certification. We also run a course on Quality and Compliance in Bunkering 17020.

Basic and advanced bunkering courses are held around the world for ship owners and operators.

www.ibia.net

For further details, please email ibia@ibia.net or call us on +44 (0)20 3397 3850 WB Summer 2016 Book.indb 18 IBIA_A4_Events_Programme_April_2016.indd 1

11/05/2016 09:02 26/04/2016 09:19:42

A full programme ahead Events manager Steve Hoare looks astern at several successful events and ahead to a packed programme for the rest of the year and into 2017

W

elcome to the summer edition of the events report.

It seems like only yesterday that I was writing about preparations for the annual dinner at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London. Now I can report that it was a great evening, with 1,100 dinner guests!

Feedback received from the attendees showed that 99% enjoyed themselves and liked being back at the Grosvenor House Hotel. A short speech was given by outgoing chairman Jens Maul Jørgensen, with a not so short speech from incoming chairman Robin Meech!

We have already started to prepare for next year’s annual dinner, which will again be at the Grosvenor House Hotel, on 20 February. I look forward to meeting you all there.

March saw IBIA host an IBIA Basic Bunkering Course and a forum at the Asia Pacific Maritime conference and exhibition in Singapore. We took a morning of the conference to run a bunkering forum for 110 attendees, with speakers including IBIA’s regional manager, Asia, Simon Neo, and chief executive Peter Hall, plus IBIA Asia executive committee members Douglas Raitt and Rahul Choudhuri.

We were lucky to also have as speakers John LaRese of ExxonMobil, Gary

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Walker of Intertek ShipCare and Han Wei Ng from Argus Media.

The most recent event has been the International Bunker Conference in Copenhagen, which was chaired by IBIA board member Nigel Draffin. Also contributing to a strong IBIA presence were Hall, Robin Meech and John Stirling, while our new media and communications manager, Unni Einemo, both kept track of the conference and manned our stand.

Looking ahead, IBIA will be hosting a forum at the SMM maritime trade fair in Hamburg in September, in association with Intertek ShipCare. Please do take the opportunity to come along and say ‘hello’ and have a chat about any issues affecting your business that IBIA may be able to help with.

IBIA Africa will be hosting a forum on 15-17 September at the Portswood Hotel, Granger Bay, Cape Town.

Planning is well under way for the IBIA Convention in Gibraltar on 7-11 November. We are again working closely with Petrospot to manage the convention. The event will be held onboard the stunning Sunborn Gibraltar floating hotel and will incorporate an exhibition as well as port visits from Gibraltar Cruise Terminal, offering the chance to board a bunker barge and see how it works firsthand.

The programme will include topics such as ‘Hubs and Spokes’ – a look at the development of key bunkering hubs and their impact on surrounding ports in respect of best bunkering practice; regulation, compliance and enforcement; an update from the International Maritime Organization; new fuels; liquefied natural gas; plus the IBIA bunker surgery, where experts will answer delegates’ questions.

For more details, please visit the IBIA website (www.ibia.net).

Events manager's report

Participants at the APM IBIA Forum in Singapore

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IBIA dinner

IBIA Dinner

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World Bunkering Summer 2016

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IBIA dinner

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Changing of the guard

Changing of the guard A new team is taking over the production of World Bunkering, the official magazine of IBIA

A

fter 36 years, Bill Robinson of Maritime Media is retiring, and bespoke publishing and print management company, Constructive Media will be the new publisher.

We would like to thank Bill Robinson and the team at Maritime Media for all their hard work over the years. This Summer Issue is the last one produced by the Maritime Media Team although in conjunction with Constructive Media.

So, sadly we will also be saying 'goodbye' to deputy editor Sandra Speares, designer Justin Ives, proof reader Caroline Taylor and Administrator Rita Bertini all of whom have contributed greatly to the success of the publication.

IBIA would like to put on record its gratitude to Maritime Media for producing, every quarter since 1992, a high quality magazine giving a unique insight to the global bunkering industry.

World Bunkering will continue to do that while also developing its coverage of new areas.

This is not only a time of change for World Bunkering. Environmental regulation is driving massive changes in the shipping bunkering industries.

Already these trends are being reflected on the magazine's pages. We now cover many more issues than we did a

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few years ago. And that coverage will expand as new fuels, new technologies and new ideas come to the fore.

It’s not all change, however.

Experienced industry writer and commentator David Hughes stays on as the editor of World Bunkering, working alongside the new editorial and publishing team.

Coming onboard as deputy editor is Unni Einemo, who many of you know from her almost two decades as the managing editor of the industry news resource Bunkerworld.com and its magazine, the Bunker Bulletin. She recently joined IBIA as IMO Representative, Media and Communications manager and so will also be keeping us up to date with developments at IMO. Together, the new team will continue to bring you the type of insightful content you have come to rely on from IBIA’s magazine, building on its success and strong foundation, but also developing new ideas.

IBIA aims to be a strong and effective voice for all sides involved in the bunker industry, informing the debate and working with all parties to find practical and equitable ways to address the issues we face.

World Bunkering is one of the platforms for IBIA and our members

to share views and valuable insights for the benefit of all. Together, we can promote a better informed and more professional industry.

“As an expert in the management and production of niche publications we are excited about this new partnership with World Bunkering, the industry’s flagship publication,” comments Glenn Ingle, managing director, Constructive Media. “Building on strong foundations we will be extending our network of contributors; maximising the authority and intelligence long-associated with IBIA.” He adds: “On a personal note we would also like to wish Bill Robinson a long and happy retirement.”

If you would like to discuss the advertising opportunities now available in World Bunkering please contact Constructive Media on: +44 (0)1495 740050 or e-mail: ibia@constructivemedia.co.uk Please feel free to contact David or Unni to discuss editorial ideas.

You can reach David by e-mail at anderimar.news@googlemail.com or phone +44 1323 768998 You can reach Unni by e-mail on unni@ibia.net or by phone on +44 7799 066780

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Benefits to members as of 1st May 2016

MEMBERSHIP COSTS

Individual membership: £200 Corporate membership: £995 £200 Corporate additional membership:

st 2015.

These increases took effect on 1 Augu Additional present practice of listing Corporate the that ded deci also has d The Boar ges have meet members’ needs and some chan Members does not properly and fairly bership mem of e accurately match the benefits therefore been introduced that will mor at. etari contacted directly by the Secr to its cost; affected members will be act ts about these changes, then please cont men com If you have any queries or 3397 3850. ibia@ibia.net or telephone: +44 (0) 20

IBIA PUBLICATIONS AND BENEFITS IBIA World Bunkering Magazine – free copies for Members of IBIA

Please note non-members are requested to subscribe to the magazine at a cost of Pounds Sterling £45, £60 or £80 depending on location.

Up to 20 additional free copies of the magazine are offered to buyer members of IBIA for forwarding to their vessels.

IBIA World Bunkering Magazine – discounts on advertising

Discounted advertising rates are available for members with savings dependent on the advertisement size.

Please contact the Advertising Sales Team at Maritime Media London on + 44 (0)20 7386 6100 IBIA List of Members

If your details are not correct, please log on to our new website and update them on your members page. The new website is designed so members can easily access and change their own information.

This publication is only available to IBIA members.

IBIA Guide to In-Line Blending

Available free of charge to members IBIA Guide to Avoiding and Resolving Bunker Disputes

IBIA members receive their personal copy free, but the report is offered for sale to non-members at £50.

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NEW MEMBER BENEFIT S

• A discounted travel clu b that offers cost effective flights • Multiple year discounts 15% discount for 3 years memb ership, (Paid in one instalm ent) – Guarantee no members hip increases for the next 3 yea rs • Meeting location in Cen tral London, with secretarial services (at cost effective rates) • Plus new benefits to be announced in the coming weeks 'Careers and Job informatio n' Further information on me mber benefits is available on our websit

Noticeboard

IBIA noticeboard

Evaluate the Merits of a Bunker Claim

Interpretation of specifications for bunker fuels and a guide to the question of repeatability.

For sale to non-members at £35.

IBIA Glossary of Bunker and Lubricating Oil Terminology

A comprehensive guide to all those complicated terms that are in daily use in the bunkering industry. For sale to non-members at £45.

IBIA Guide to Good Commercial Practice

On sale to non-members at £50 per copy.

IBIA Safety Cards for vessels’ crews

IBIA buyer members receive copies of the IBIA Safety Cards for distribution to their ships, giving basic, plain English advice about safe handling of bunker fuels Please note that all of the above publications can also be downloaded by members by visiting www.ibia.net and logging into your account. Please then go to the download section of the website.

IBIA LOGO

Free bromide supplied for use by corporate members only.

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Industry news

Lucion Marine will carry out fuel oil sampling at major UK ports

Put to the test Testing has hit the headlines in a range of ways, with the award of a UK sulphur testing contract and an apology from Wärtsilä for deviations in Italian fuel consumption tests

Sulphur testing contract

Wärtsilä fuel use tests manipulated

UK-based hazardous material and risk management specialist Lucion Marine, part of the Lucion Services Group, is to provide the country’s Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) with fuel oil sampling and testing services at ports across the UK. Under a contract that runs until 2020, Lucion will test fuel being used by vessels in UK waters to check it does not exceed the maximum allowed sulphur content of 0.1%, as stipulated in the Annex VI air pollution regulations of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL).

Lucion says its specialist marine team will test upwards of 240 vessels each year at 13 major UK ports, including Aberdeen, Belfast, Port of London and Port of Tyne, to make sure that the MARPOL regulations, promoted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), are strictly adhered to.

Under the terms of the contract, Lucion will arrange for a sulphur inspector to visit vessels and liaise with the shipmaster to acquire spot samples of the fuel. These samples will be sent to a specialist laboratory for testing in accordance with ISO and BS EN methods, a full report will be sent to the MCA, in accordance with MARPOL. The full process, from taking the sample to providing an analysis report, will take just three days.

Finnish engine manufacturer Wärtsilä Corporation has apologised after some of its Italy-based employees were found to have influenced fuel consumption tests.

In early March, the company announced internally that an audit had revealed “deviations in a limited number of fuel consumption tests of marine engines”.

Wärtsilä Corporation president and chief executive Jaakko Eskola says: “Wärtsilä requires all its employees to act in accordance with internal guidelines as well as laws and regulations.

We deeply apologise for any loss in trust caused by this violation to our policies and corporate values, and we will immediately start reaching out to our customers.”

A Wärtsilä statement says it had “at its own initiative, conducted an internal audit of test processes globally”. It adds: “This was done to secure compliance and to ensure operational excellence within the company.”

According to Wärtsilä: “The investigation has brought forward deviations in certain fuel consumption measurement tests conducted for marine engines in Wärtsilä Delivery Centre Trieste in Italy before customer dispatches.

“The deviations are, on average, 1% of fuel consumption. Of all Wärtsilä

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engine deliveries, a total of 2% may have been affected. Engines for power plant customers are not impacted, and we have no evidence of deviations in other operations.”

The company statement stresses: “It is to be noted that the engines in question have fulfilled the regulatory and classification society requirements, and the potentially affected vessels have met sea trial requirements. According to our evaluation, the customer impact of the deviations is marginal.”

Wärtsilä shares dipped on the news, but the company points out in its statement that marine engine sales represented only 12% of annual group revenues in 2015. It does not expect the issue to have a significant financial effect.

“Based on our current analysis, the deviations have been caused by a limited number of personnel, who have clearly acted against work instructions and our code of conduct by influencing the test results,” the statement says.

“These actions are in dire violation of corporate policies, and the company takes the matter extremely seriously.

“In order to secure new and transparent processes and controls, Wärtsilä has reviewed all test procedures, and taken immediate corrective actions where deviations have been found.

Consequently, we can confirm that the tests fulfil our high standards.”

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Industry news

Singapore prepares for LNG bunkering

The Port of Singapore has announced the successful bidders for its first two LNG bunker supplier licences. The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) awarded licences to Pavilion Gas and a joint proposal from Keppel Offshore & Marine and BG Group (BG Group – Keppel). In response to MPA’s request for proposal (RFP), the two companies’ offerings have emerged as best meeting the criteria set up in the RFP. The RFP, which closed on 30 September 2015, attracted 12 bids.

MPA says it will work with the two licence holders to develop the necessary infrastructure for them to begin supplying LNG bunker to vessels in the Port of Singapore by early 2017.

Chow Yew Yuen, chief executive, Zeppelin Offshore & Marine, comments: “We are happy to partner BG Group in this exciting new venture. We will leverage our years of experience and expertise in providing LNG solutions, including gas carrier servicing, to support MPA in its goal to develop Singapore into a key LNG bunkering hub in Asia.”

Steve Hill, executive vice-president, global energy marketing and shipping, BG Group, says: “We are excited about the prospect of supplying LNG as a fuel for ships in Singapore. We look forward to working with Keppel Offshore & Marine on the safe and reliable supply of this cleaner fuel source and the ongoing development of Singapore as a leading hub for LNG in Asia.”

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“Pavilion Gas is delighted to be ments and stricter standards for awarded the LNG bunker supplier emissions, LNG is likely to be part of licence. We will work closely with MPA the fuel mix for global shipping as it and our partners to develop and test becomes more cost-competitive and safety procedures and build relevant as supply chain and infrastructures are infrastructure to make LNG bunkering developed,” says MPA chief executive a reality in Singapore. It is exciting to Andrew Tan. “As the world’s largest see the growth of the LNG bunkerbunkering hub, MPA is pleased to award the first two LNG bunker suping industry as it supports Singapore’s plier licences to Pavilion Gas and BG efforts to be an Asian LNG hub,” says Group – Keppel. This is the first step Pavilion Energy Group chief executive in Singapore’s efforts to become LNG Seah Moon Ming. bunker-ready. We are also keen to work MPA says it is also working with with other major ports and the shipping stakeholders to develop LNG buncommunity to promote LNG bunkering kering standards and procedures at as an alternative marine fuel.” both national and international levels.

It has signed memoranda of understanding with the Port of Rotterdam, Antwerp Port Authority and the Port of Zeebrugge to harmonise LNG bunkering standards and procedures.

In addition, MPA is funding up to S$12 million for the building of six LNGfuelled vessels. To date, MPA has received a total of five applications, which are being evaluated. MPA expects to announce the successful applicants by March 2016.

MPA will also be encouraging towage service providers in Singapore to consider switching to LNG when they commission new tugs.

“With growing internaMPA chief executive Andrew Tan tional regulatory require-

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Industry news

Gibraltar invites bunker storage proposals

Gibraltar’s government has invited proposals for the design and construction of a land fuel storage facility to support the bunkering industry. Since the King’s Lines tank farm was taken out of use some years ago, the port has relied on floating storage or fuel brought in from outside.

A government statement says: “The need for land storage to support and enhance port activities has been an issue that has been alive for some years, and this process will evaluate in some detail with interested parties the possibilities for the provision of this in Gibraltar. Government will focus extensively on safety and environmental issues to ensure that any facility meets the highest standards possible.

Government will take expert advice on proposals received at the early evaluation stage.”

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The statement elaborates that the project will enable the government to carry out a general review of its port facilities and land. Port minister Paul Balban comments: “For many years we have talked of the need for land storage facilities and considered many different options. I am pleased that we are now focusing on this possibility and encouraged by the interest we have received to date. I am looking forward to working towards making this facility a reality, safeguarding the port’s reputation for the highest operational standards. Bringing this project to life will help the port to further consolidate its position as the premier bunkering hub in the Mediterranean, as the shipping world enters a new phase of increasingly stringent environmental protection measures.”

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Environment

A 0.5% sulphur cap and moves towards capping CO2 emissions were key issues at MEPC

MEPC 69 sets the stage for major moves Unni Einemo reports on a key IMO meeting, which tackled several contentious issues

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f you take an interest in fuel quality, sulphur emission measures, fuel availability and fuel consumption, you should keep an eye on what the International Maritime Organization (IMO) is up to, and IBIA does. The 69th session of IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) in April 2016 made some decisions that will affect these areas, with more to come at MEPC 70 in October.

Global cap coming into view

The long-awaited decision on whether the global 0.50% sulphur cap will come in 2020 or 2025 is finally approaching.

At MEPC 70, committee members will have had time to assess the result of a study to establish if there will be enough compliant 0.50% sulphur fuel to implement the cap in 2020.

The study aims to assess not just whether refineries can supply sufficient distillate fuels to meet a huge leap in demand from shipping, currently mainly using heavy fuel oil (HFO) with up to 3.50% sulphur, but also to what extent the uptake of scrubbers might cause ships to continue to use HFO. That’s a tricky one, but there’s one safe bet; operators won’t order scrubbers until they know when the global cap takes effect.

MEPC 69 agreed in principle to decide on the timing of the global cap at the October session, but this will depend on the availability study, and how the committee reacts World Bunkering Summer 2016

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to it. If the study’s conclusions are unambiguous, the decision should be straightforward. But if the feasibility of a 2020 implementation is unclear, the committee may need more time. If there is no clear consensus, it could lead to a vote on the implementation date.

Many think it will be a political decision, regardless of the study’s findings.

Scrubber uncertainties to be addressed

Scrubbers are an accepted alternative to low-sulphur fuel, provided that they reduce sulphur emissions at least as effectively. But what happens if there is an accidental breakdown or issues causing emissions to spike temporarily?

This and other areas of the 2015 Guidelines for Exhaust Gas Cleaning Systems are in need of clarification, and they should be revised, according to three proposals to MEPC 69. One of them argued that temporary emission exceedances should not be considered non-compliance events, as they are normal, possibly unavoidable, results of different engine loads. MEPC 69 agreed to revise the 2015 guidelines by 2019.

Surprise twist in fuel quality debate

A long-running debate about fuel quality at the IMO really took off during 2014, with a number of proposals expressing a need to improve control of fuel quality prior to delivery.

The overriding objective would be to ensure ships receive bunkers that

comply with sulphur limits, meet quality specifications and are safe to use. It has also been a hot topic at the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) owing to the risks to ship and crew if fuel is found to cause severe operational problems.

The crux of the matter is whether the current legal framework in Annex VI of the MARPOL marine pollution regulations, combined with the commercial relationship between bunker buyers and suppliers, offers adequate protection to ships against ‘off-spec’ fuels that fall outside specifications.

Opinions remained divided at a correspondence group that reported to MEPC 69, as well as the committee itself, on whether the current legal framework is sufficient. There are those that argue it clearly isn’t, evidenced by supply of non-compliant and/or contaminated fuels. They say there needs to be more robust oversight over the distribution and quality of marine fuel before it is supplied to ships. They feel the onus of compliance rests too heavily with the ship and that regulation should ensure more responsibility is put on suppliers.

On the other hand, some say the supply of fuel to ship is a commercial activity that should be handled under contract law and needs no further regulations. They also argue that there are limits to the extent that the IMO can regulate business activities on the supply side, as they are domestic arrangements over which IMO has no sway.

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Environment

With little consensus, MEPC 69 decided not to pursue the matter further, advising member states that believe there are shortcomings to put forward specific proposals to amend Annex VI. The correspondence group on fuel oil quality will continue its work, but only to carry on developing guidelines for the fuel oil purchaser/user, and member state/coastal state for submission to MEPC 71 in 2017. The group will take into account concerns raised during MEPC 69 – in particular, to what extent it is reasonable to ask a purchaser to know about a supplier’s track record, and, with regard to states, ensure that any ‘best practice’ document does not go beyond the obligations of MARPOL Annex VI. Surprisingly, the IMO’s work on developing voluntary guidance for bunker suppliers will now pause. Instead, the committee agreed to encourage the supply industry to develop guidelines and present them to MEPC. IBIA intends to work with its members in developing “best practice” guidelines for bunker suppliers, drawing on existing work by organisations such as the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and CIMAC, the International Council on Combustion Engines. It will use its observer status at the IMO to coordinate efforts with interested parties and inform MEPC accordingly.

Arctic fuel oil ban?

Once again, at MEPC 69, environmental non-governmental organisations (NGOs) put forward the case for considering a ban on the use and carriage of HFO in the Arctic. The aim is to protect against potential spills, as well as reducing black carbon emissions in a region where it may accelerate global warming.

The science put forward in the NGO paper was contested by one member state, but several delegations said they shared the NGOs’ concerns. A ban on carrying HFO is already in place for the Antarctic under MARPOL Annex I. Another suggestion made during MEPC 69 was to ban the use of HFO as fuel, but not to ban carrying it. Interested parties have been invited to submit proposals on the subject to a future MEPC session.

Ship efficiency and fuel use

With the Paris agreement on climate change fresh in mind, MEPC 69 was under huge political pressure to ensure shipping undertakes a fair share of the international effort to keep global 28

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warming in check. It discussed proposals to begin work to define a sectoral greenhouse gas reduction target, in line with pledges made by countries under the Paris agreement. This proved a step too far at this session and will be debated more fully at MEPC 70.

Some saw this as failure by the IMO to show real leadership. Others have hailed the significant progress made under what many see as the IMO’s already agreed and established threestage approach to determining shipping’s fair share of CO2 emissions and future targets, namely collection of fuel-use data, analysis, and policy decisions based on the data analysis.

Draft amendments to Annex VI to make fuel consumption data collection mandatory were agreed and should be adopted at MEPC 70. It will apply to all ships of 5,000 tonnes and above, which will be required to collect consumption details for each type of fuel used, as well as additional data, including proxies for transport work. Results will be sent to the flag state after the end of each calendar year. Having verified the data, each state will then be required to pass it on to the IMO Ship Fuel Consumption Database.

A mandatory data collection system is still being developed, but will involve amendments of the ship energy efficiency management plan (SEEMP) guidelines, detailing methodologies that can be used. These draft amendments will be put forward to MEPC 70 and could come into force in 2018.

SEEMP and the energy efficiency design index (EEDI) are already mandatory IMO instruments aimed at reducing ship emissions. The EEDI defines three phases of increasingly stringent targets for the fuel efficiency of newbuilds. The time periods and parameters are currently under review. The correspondence group working on this recommended to MEPC 69 to retain current timelines and targets, but, heeding arguments that many ships already easily exceed phase two targets, the committee agreed to continue reviewing EEDI ambitions for some shiptypes.

What does it all mean?

The more successful the IMO is at reducing greenhouse gas emissions from shipping by efficiency improvements, the less scope there is for growth in global bunker demand. It could even shrink, and that would indeed be the long-term goal under global climate change policies.

Shorter term, it will put a new administrative burden on ships to collect data. They may well face a double burden, as the system agreed at the IMO may not achieve one of the shipping industry’s main objectives; to ward off the regional EU monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) regulation for CO2. This requires more detail than the IMO system, and also aims for full public disclosure of ship’s records, while the IMO system stresses the importance of keeping data anonymised and confidential.

Once data collection is under way, be it for the IMO or MRV, one of the key tools is the bunker delivery note (BDN), along with periodic stock takes of fuel tanks. More high-tech approaches are possible, but the BDN and stock take method is readily available to all ships and won’t require new equipment.

Anne-Marie Warris of the consultancy Ecoreflect has made some good points about what data collection will mean for bunker suppliers. She suggests that ships will wish to contract for fuel supplies with a bunker supplier that can provide assurance that its bunker supply meters are properly calibrated, maintained and tamper proof. It becomes key to ensure the fuel quantity recorded on the BDN is accurate, and ships will look to suppliers that can help with proper documentation in case a BDN/oil record book/financial invoice show different fuel quantities.

Asked what the role of the bunker industry would be in relation to upcoming regulations, Kitack Lim, secretary-general of the IMO, responded: “Measurement of fuel oil supplied to and used by ships will become increasingly scrutinised, and the bunker industry will be a key third party.” He also encouraged the bunker industry to consider how it can contribute to research and development.

The industry is already innovating, coming up with fuel blends to meet lower sulphur limits. Some are also looking to get involved in the supply of LNG or alternative fuels, like methanol.

For a low-carbon future to become a reality, more research will be required.

Maybe, one day, bunker suppliers will be able offer fuels in accordance with a carbon rating system, where some fuels – like algae-derived biofuel – are rated as carbon-neutral or even carbon-negative, with refined- oil-based fuels at the other end of the spectrum. But now we’re getting ahead of ourselves and the IMO. Let’s see how it goes at MEPC 70 first, when some big decisions could be made.

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Oil companies

Shipping has decades of experience with LNG, but its widespread use as a marine fuel will pose challenges © ExxonMobil

Looking ahead?

Big changes are on the way, but are the oil companies ready?

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egulations bringing in lower and ultra-low sulphur limits are major drivers of change in the market, but there are others, including meeting shipowners’ concerns on quantity and quality.

World Bunkering asked ExxonMobil Marine’s global marketing manager, Iain White, how his company was responding to changing times.

In response to the 0.1% sulphur limit in ECAs, ExxonMobil brought out two new fuels. The company’s Premium HDME 50 is produced at Antwerp, and, says White, is proving very popular: “We can sell as much as we can make.”

ExxonMobil Premium AFME 200 is, White says, similarly popular. It is only produced at the company’s Fawley refinery, near Southampton. It is “very clean with almost no sulphur, no metals, no cat fines”.

White explains that the nature of each refinery dictates what product can be produced. Both products are priced against marine gas oil (MGO) (minus a percentage – ‘demium’). He says the lower oil price had no effect on demand for the new products.

Looking ahead, White says that all of the alternatives to meet regulations will be relevant. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) will “definitely have a place”. The same goes for scrubbers, but demand for them has been hit by low oil price.

Nevertheless, fitting scrubbers is still a viable option for some owners – for example, for those vessels that operate

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within an emission control area (ECA) all the time. He adds that fitting scrubbers will definitely be an option when the global 0.5% limit comes in. But he stresses that there is no “silver bullet” to meet the new regulations; all options will have a place.

So can oil companies meet demand for MGO/compliant new fuels when the 0.5% limit comes in? According to White: “It is too early to say.” ExxonMobil will, he says, be looking at various studies, and especially one from the International Maritime Organization (IMO), due out in September or October.

ExxonMobil has not yet made any announcements on LNG bunkering, but White confirms that the company is actively looking at this. He says that ExxonMobil has a “huge amount of expertise” in LNG, as well as access to the world’s largest production, experience in transportation of ocean-going vessels and barges, plus involvement in establishing industry safety standards.

But, he cautions, there are a lot of challenges to address if the industry is to take up LNG as a fuel. Although there is expertise in LNG, there are limited numbers of skilled people. A lot training will be required.

Turning to another issue, White says the introduction of mass flow metering systems (MFMSs) is an important development. ExxonMobil is supporting the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) in its introduction of MFMSs there. Last August, it announced

that more than one million tonnes of ExxonMobil fuel had been delivered using the MPA’s approved MFMS. It also recently introduced the first independently accredited system in Hong Kong. According to the company, the system can help save vessel operators up to an estimated three hours and US$5,000 per refuelling, while also providing increased transparency and efficiency to the bunkering process.

White points out that the company used a different model in Hong Kong, as the initiative was not driven by government, as it has been in Singapore. The Hong Kong MFMS has been accredited

by Lloyd’s Register. ExxonMobil may follow the Hong Kong model at other locations, but it is too early to say where, White says.

On ExxonMobil’s whole approach to bunkering, White says the company strongly supports IBIA’s policy on ethics and transparency. He points to its underlying philosophy of “QRI” – standing for quality, reliability and integrity.

He says QRI is borne out by the way it has developed new fuels and MFMSs. For example, he says, ExxonMobil’s two new fuels do a better job than standard MGO for ECA use. The MFMS guarantees quantity and transparency for customers. He says the QRI approach is also reflected by the high ethical and safety standards of barge operators used

by ExxonMobil.

While ExxonMobil has yet to announce its LNG plans, Shell Trading

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Rotterdam (Shell) has signed a time-charter agreement with Plouvier Transport and Intertrans Tankschiffahrt AG for 15 new inland dual-fuel barges, which will predominantly run on LNG. These state-of-the-art barges, built by the Dutch shipyard VEKA Shipbuilding BV, will support Shell’s growing business in trading and transporting mineral oil products in the Amsterdam-RotterdamAntwerp (ARA) and Rhinetrack (Germany/Switzerland) regions.

Dr Grahaeme Henderson, vice-president of Shell Shipping & Maritime said: “These innovative new vessels will enable a step-change in the safety and environmental performance of our barge fleet.

Chartering these cutting-edge vessels from owners who share our vision helps drive innovation in the barge sector, and we are proud to be leading in the development of LNG as a cleaner fuel for shipping.”

The company says this investment “underlines Shell’s confidence in LNG becoming a bigger part of the global transport fuel mix and supports the development of a new European LNG marine fuel industry for inland and coastal vessels. It is expected that these barges will refuel with LNG from the new LNG for Transport supply infrastructure currently being built by the Gas Access to Europe (Gate) terminal in Rotterdam. A staggered delivery of the barges is expected to take place between late-2016 and mid-2018.

Meanwhile, Finland-based Neste is to continue to supply lowsulphur marine fuel to Tallink Grupp’s ferries calling at ports in Finland.

“We are very pleased to continue our cooperation with Tallink Grupp, a leading provider of high-quality cruises and passenger transport services, as well as ro-ro cargo services in the northern Baltic Sea region. We share the same vision of responsibility and excellence in customer care. Our high-quality, low-sulphur marine fuels fulfil the new requirements and deliver clear environmental benefits,” says Antti Tiitola, executive vice-president for oil retail at Neste.

Neste says that its strong in-house research and development capability meant that it was able to develop two low-sulphur marine fuels for the marine sector in 2015.

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Brightoil launches e-commerce platform

Hong Kong-based Brightoil Petroleum (Holdings) launched its energy and financial e-commerce platform, Brightoil Online (www.brightoilonline.com) in January. Brightoil Online offers four services: Crowdoil, Cloudoil, Corpoil and the Brightoil bunkering e-commerce platform. Crowdoil and Cloudoil are primarily targeted at the Chinese domestic market and individual end-users for gasoline products, and Corpoil is targeted at the Chinese domestic commercial market for diesel oil, fuel oil and gasoline, etc. The Brightoil bunkering e-commerce platform is designed for the global bunkering in the real-time marine fuel sales and supply practises.

Brightoil says that its bunkering e-commerce platform is a convenient and efficient online fuel oil trading platform, which can help its customers save time and streamline their bunker procurement process. Customers can not only purchase fuel oil online via the platform but can also track delivery status as well as acquiring technical support and relevant Brightoil news and information.

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Emphasis on monitoring More offshore vessels fit fuel management systems to meet oil company requirements

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rowing insistence by international oil companies (IOCs) that oilfield offshore support vessels (OSVs) are fitted with fuel monitoring systems has prompted an upsurge in interest in marine engine monitoring systems, according to diesel power specialist Royston. In addition, at least one oil company is no longer paying for the fuel used by contracted vessels, increasing the incentive for operators to reduce fuel use.

The company reports that it is equipping a growing number of offshore vessels with its Enginei fuel management system, as the oil majors increasingly require the availability of accurate onboard fuel monitoring data as part of the support contracts awarded to shipping companies.

Around the world, Enginei is now installed on nine vessels working for Chevron, two for BP, one for Addax Petroleum, four for Total, two for ConocoPhillips and one for ExxonMobil.

In Nigeria alone, over the past two years, Royston has fitted over 30 vessels with its system for monitoring bunkering and fuel consumption data.

However, the trend is not confined to West Africa, with Enginei-equipped vessels also operating in Asia, Egypt, Mexico and Brazil. In the North Sea, Royston also recently installed a fuel

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monitoring system in a vessel operated

by GulfMark for a Shell contract.

Royston notes that, despite the low oil price, it appears that access to accurate and reliable fuel consumption data is taking on even greater importance for a wide range of fleet management issues.

Damian McCann, product manager for Enginei fuel management systems at Royston, explains: “Over the past two years, a number of factors have come together as part of a definite trend that has seen the IOCs requiring fuel monitoring data provision in offshore support contracts. These factors include better visibility of operational costs and contract cost reductions, encouraging improved vessel handling and working efficiencies, and closer attention to emissions control, as well as fuel security issues.”

He adds: “Although the trend started with high fuel prices around two years ago, there is no doubt that it is here to stay, and even in the current low oil price scenario we are still undertaking new installations. In the North Sea, for example, both GulfMark and Shell have said they are extremely happy with the range of data they are seeing from the onboard and remote monitoring. We are also aware of clients who are intending to highlight the inclusion of Enginei in future contract tenders, such are

Fuel management

Royston’s Enginei monitoring system is being fitted on offshore support vessels

the fuel management advantages it provides.”

The Enginei system records the fuel consumption data, which is presented onboard via touchscreen monitors installed on the bridge and in engine control rooms. In addition, the technology remotely sends the information from ship to shore, where it can be accessed through a simple web dashboard with computer-generated graphs and Google mapping to show an operational profile of a vessel.

Shore staff can then access live and historical data in order to analyse the performance of their vessels.

In addition, specific fuel burn data can be provided for different vessel operational modes, as well as consumption measurements per passage and by different captains. This increased scope means the onboard monitoring system can be configured to meet precise operator requirements.

The system permits daily ‘noon day’ logs from the vessel to be imported into the Enginei server, so that the charterer or vesselowner can see all the vessels’ fuel data/activity from one online Enginei dashboard and without the need to install flow meters/hardware.

With the growth in interest, Enginei is now installed on OSVs of all types, including anchor handlers, jack-ups, platform supply vessels and crewboats.

The typical system requirements are

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Fuel management

the measurement of individual engines and fuel bunker activity.

McCann continued: “The monitoring need is essentially being driven by IOCs trying to reduce the burn of fuel that they pay for. However, it is interesting to hear that Pemex has apparently changed this strategy and will no longer pay for fuel in all future oilfield service contracts. If so, this means that the vesseloperator will then have to manage fuel a lot more closely than is currently the case. From a fuel monitoring perspective, this would be a big sea change in the OSV market. Whether other majors follow is yet to be seen, but, whatever the situation, any future recovery in the oil price would lead to even greater importance being put on effective fuel management.”

Royston says that, at the moment, the requirement for fuel monitoring

systems to be installed is only being applied to longer-term contracts of over one year. In most cases, vesseloperators are paying for systems to be installed and the monitoring instrumentation will stay in place after contracts have ended. However, at the end of contracts, there are already examples of operators removing systems for refitting on other vessels, depending on contract arrangements.

The company says the Enginei integrated fuel management system is compatible with all marine engine types and can be interfaced with newbuild engine installations or retrofitted.

Shipping company fined for late switching

California is continuing to crack down on owners failing to comply with its fuel switching rules, and the consequences of not complying can linger for a long

time. In such a case, the California Air Resources Board (ARB) has fined China Navigation Co US$129,500 for failure to switch from heavy fuel oil to low-sulphur fuel when close to the California coast back in 2012, as required by state law.

On 28 December 2012, an ARB inspector found that the China Navigation-managed Chenan operated within Regulated California Waters, which means 24 miles or less from the coast, on non-compliant heavy fuel oil on 12 separate days, during four voyages, between 5 August and 28 December 2012, while bound for and departing from the Port of Los Angeles.

ARB notes that China Navigation Co took prompt action after being notified of the violations and cooperated with the investigation. In addition to paying a fine, the company agreed to comply with all fuel switch-over requirements and to keep accurate records going forward.

Monitoring effect of fuel quality on performance

Testing agency Veritas Petroleum Services (VPS) and its former parent company, classification society DNV GL, have launched a fuel analytics solution. As part of DNV GL’s ECO Insight fleet performance management portal, the tool will enable a systematic assessment of the impact of fuel quality on vessel performance, for the first time.

The fuel analytics solution is the DNV GL and VPS sign off their fuel analytics solution result of an ongoing close cooperation between VPS and DNV GL. “We have been the largest fuel testing services provider since our inception in 1981,” says Gerard Rohaan Fuel quality is calculated in terms of four major (above left), chief executive of VPS. “As a result, we have the benchmarks: technical quality (meeting the specifications world’s largest fuel sampling database – over two million of ISO standard 8217); financial quality (energy, water tested samples. By extracting valuable information from this content); statutory compliance; as well as reporting extensive database with state-of-the-art analytical tools, we quality (deviation from the bunker delivery note). By help our customers get the best value from their bunker providing aggregated and comparable benchmarks, purchases through fast, accurate performance monitoring shipoperators can easily assess ports and suppliers and decision-making.” globally on a common scale.

The fuel analytics solution is a powerful online “By integrating fuel analytics within our ECO Insight benchmarking tool that shipping companies can use solution, shipping companies can now get even more alongside ECO Insight’s existing modules to answer three analytical depth from the most comprehensive fleet key questions. performance portal on the market,” says Dr Torsten Büssow (above right) , head of fleet performance management at • What impact does my bunkered fuel quality have on DNV GL. “For the first time, shipping companies can now my vessel’s performance? easily differentiate between efficiency loss due to fuel • What bunker quality have I received, compared with a quality, voyage performance, and hull, propeller, engine world fleet average of similar vessels in the same period? and systems degradation.”

• Where do I find quality bunker locations and suppliers?

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Scrubbers

Uncertainty still in the air While scrubbers provide an obvious way to comply with the impending 0.5% sulphur cap, owners still can’t be sure what equipment will be acceptable within EU waters

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n late January, the European Community Shipowners’ Associations (ECSA) arranged for EU environment commissioner Karmenu Vella to visit the DFDS vessel Magnolia Seaways while it was alongside in Ghent. The aim, ECSA says, was to demonstrate how a scrubber functions onboard a modern-day vessel and explain the challenges arising from the operation of such equipment.

Following the visit, commissioner Vella said: “The Commission supports innovation in emission abatement technology, and ‘early movers’ such as DFDS provide valuable data. The European Commission, DFDS and ECSA are committed to ensuring that alternative compliance technology is truly sustainable. We should be extra vigilant to make sure that, in complying with air quality/emissions legislation, such as the Sulphur Directive, we also avoid a transfer of pollution from air to water. To that end, we actively engage with the European Sustainable Shipping Forum (ESSF) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to facilitate an exchange of data and userexperience.”

Niels Smedegaard, ECSA president and chief executive of DFDS, said: “We are delighted to have had commissioner Vella onboard one of our ships.

Commissioner Vella has shown a real interest in one of the shipping industry’s

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most important environmental aspects, namely that of sulphur emissions. We hope this visit has shed more light on the plethora of regulatory and technical issues resulting from the installation and operation of scrubber technology, and we hope that this visit has underlined the importance of timely cooperation between legislators, shipping industry and the manufacturers to the industry.”

Since 1 January 2015, ships sailing in sulphur emission control areas (SECAs) within the Channel, the North Sea and the Baltic Sea have had to comply with the EU Sulphur Directive.

They must use bunker fuels with a maximum sulphur content of 0.1% or reach the same level of emissions by the use of alternative fuels or compliant abatement technologies.

ECSA notes that, while scrubbers have been identified as one of the few abatement technologies available, allowing ships to reduce the sulphur content in their emissions, the EU’s Water Framework Directive (WFD) is a source of concern for European shipowners. The WFD sets limits for the content of pollutants in ports, estuaries and coastal areas. This, in turn, means that the discharges of scrubber washwater will in some areas be well under the limits set by the WFD, while in other areas, with poorer water quality, washwater discharges might be prohibited by member state legislation.

Moreover, ECSA explains, the WFD foresees a progressive reduction of some substances and a complete phasing out of others. However, owing to a lack of information on the actual composition of washwater discharges, it is currently not possible to ascertain whether scrubber discharges fall within the two aforementioned categories.

Hence, more research on the actual ecological effects of scrubber discharge is necessary. Certain member states have nevertheless already moved to ban the use of open-loop scrubbers in their ports, estuaries and coastal areas.

ECSA argues that EU states should define a clear and long-term position with regard to scrubber washwater.

Any restrictions introduced on the use of open-loop scrubbers should not be applied to existing installations.

It says: “Shipowners that have made irrevocable investments in good faith to be compliant in time with the Sulphur Directive and international rules, but that are facing uncertainties, should not be penalised.

The shipowners’ body adds that current uncertainty and lack of harmonisation jeopardises investments already made by operators. It also hampers the uptake of scrubber technology that might be further encouraged by the introduction in 2020 of the 0.5% sulphur requirement in the territorial seas, exclusive economic

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zones and pollution control zones of member states, as prescribed by the Sulphur Directive.

Meanwhile, the shipping industry is getting ready for the widespread use of scrubbers. In February, IMO’s SubCommittee on Pollution Prevention and Response agreed draft bunker delivery note amendments concerning fuel supplied to ships with scrubbers The proposed amendments to the MARPOL Annex VI bunker delivery note, relating to the supply of marine fuel oil to ships that have fitted alternative mechanisms to address sulphur emissions requirements, were agreed by the committee when it met for its third session.

The amendments to appendix V of MARPOL Annex VI are intended to address situations where the fuel oil supplied does not meet low-sulphur requirements, but has been supplied to a ship that is using ‘equivalent means’ (for example, abatement technology such as scrubbers) to reduce sulphur oxide emissions from the ship in order to comply with MARPOL requirements.

The draft amendments will be forwarded to the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 70) in October 2016, with a view to approval and subsequent adoption.

In another move, classification society DNV GL has created a new class notation to help shipowners prepare their newbuildings for the installation of a scrubber. It says that the Scrubber Ready notation ensures that the

necessary preparations are in place for a smooth and cost-efficient scrubber retrofit at a later stage.

“There is no doubt that stricter emissions regulations for sulphur oxides are here to stay,” says Knut Ørbeck-Nilssen, chief executive at DNV GL – Maritime. “This new Scrubber Ready class notation gives shipowners the flexibility to minimise their initial investment when ordering a newbuilding, while at the same time having the confidence that their vessels are already on track to easy compliance with incoming emissions regulations.”

Hans Jacob Horgen, DNV GL’s engineer responsible for exhaust gas cleaning rules, says: “Shipmanagers have to factor in many considerations when planning for a potential future scrubber installation – from space and stability requirements, to fire safety, piping, corrosion resistance, and the effect on the main engine. It is very important to have an overview of the design and an understanding of how the system will interact with the engines and auxiliary parts of the machinery system. We also offer scrubber advisory services to support our customers, from building the business case, to risk assessment of the design, installation, commissioning, hardware-in-the-loop testing of the control system, right through to the system entering into operation.”

Part of the new DNV GL rules for classification, the Scrubber Ready notation can be awarded to ships that have planned and partly prepared for

After supplying scrubbers for ealier TUI vessels, incluidng the Mein Schiff 5, Valmet now has orders for Mein Schiff 7 and Mein Schiff 8. Credit MeyerTurku

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the installation at a later date of an exhaust gas cleaning system (EGCS) for the removal of sulphur oxides. The notation identifies the general type and category of scrubber systems that can be installed on the vessel. It also details the level of scrubber readiness, with the minimum scope attesting that the space available and future installation arrangement meets class and statutory requirements. This can be expanded to include more extensive preparations, through to a complete review of the scrubber documentation according to main class rules, including the certification and installation of piping and sub-systems. DNV GL says that, for shipyards, working with the Scrubber Ready standard gives an easy framework within which to offer future-ready ship designs to the market.

While current uncertainties and the low oil price have affected the market for scrubbers, there has been a steady trickle of new orders. Among them, manufacturer Valmet says it is to supply exhaust gas scrubber systems for two new cruisevessels, Mein Schiff 7 and Mein Schiff 8, to be built by Meyer Turku for TUI Cruises GmbH. Delivery of the scrubber system to the first vessel is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2016, followed by delivery to the second vessel in the first quarter of 2017.

Although Valmet declined to disclose the value of the order, it notes that scrubber system deliveries range between €1 million and €6 million.

Valmet has a long track record in supplying scrubber systems to cruisevessels. For TUI Cruises, these new cruiseships will be the fifth and sixth cruisevessels in its fleet to be fitted with EGCS scrubbers based on Valmet’s technology.

The scrubber system for TUI will include integrated hybrid scrubber systems for both engine rooms and all auxiliary systems with automation.

The exhaust gas is washed with seawater in open-loop mode and with recirculated water and alkali in closedloop mode. Wash water is cleaned with Valmet’s patented water treatment system.

All emissions are continuously monitored, and the complete exhaust gas scrubber system is controlled via Valmet’s proven marine automation.

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Irene Notias, managing director of Prime Petroleum Services, provides a heartfelt insight into what it is like to run a bunker-sector business from Greece in 2016

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s I write this, it is Easter week in Greece. People are forgetting their worries and thinking of holiday time. Many will visit the blue Aegean seaside villages.

Many, too, will attend Holy Saturday night mass to receive the Holy Light, a light that some will secretly pray will miraculously scatter the black clouds now overshadowing Greece.

Perhaps there will be more miracles.

Maybe everyone will see the extent of official corruption, especially in Greece but more widely throughout Europe too. But, for now, the average Greek citizen is paying the price of a broken system. The Greek people now suffer 24% taxation on everything. The upper middle class is being punished for owning more than one home, so house values have gone down while taxes have gone up. The country where democracy was born has been brought to its knees.

Everyone is frustrated, agitated, stressed, taking twice as much energy to perform tasks. Wouldn’t you be the same if your salary was reduced? Or if your spouse was let go from his job?

Or if one of your parents had their social security cut? Or if your college graduate son or daughter had to leave the country to find work that paid more than €400 a month? Wouldn’t you be disappointed or less motivated

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if you could not withdraw more than €420 a week for your family’s living expenses in a country where laws and rules change by the month?

The capital control measures are disastrous to businesses, and I wonder if Greece has become a testing ground for banks and governments to see how long the population can put up with such suffering.

To top it off, ill-informed media portray the “clever” Greeks as having been spoilt.

Against this background, the Greek shipping community is working long and hard to survive in the current tough international shipping markets while also making ends meet at home.

They struggle to raise and educate their children well and to take care of elderly parents, while their own health needs are put off for later. I see lots of business owners in Greece trying to survive like this in what has become a very long-term crisis.

There are plenty of opportunities to grow and to do more business. But for this to happen, bunker suppliers must realise that Greek shipping does its banking in international banks and not in Greece. So there is nothing to be afraid of when offering credit lines to those they did business with successfully before the capital controls were set. The traditional Greek shipowner was very disappointed when

Eastern Mediterranean

It’s Greek to me!

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Greece’s largest privately owned oil company, Jetoil, has restructured

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Cyprus

Eastern Mediterranean

their credit line was cut after all the good business they provided to the international supply chain.

The Greek owner who wants to feel safe by buying direct from the supplier is disenchanted on learning they must show their financial details in order to gain a credit line approval from a physical supplier.

It is interesting that although several suppliers wish to deal directly with the end-users, Greek owners are not granted credit lines directly by, let’s say, suppliers in Singapore on the premise that they are afraid of the Greek crisis. The Greek crisis has been going on since 2010, and yet Greece is still sun-kissed and blessed with happy and intelligent people who are running businesses while trying to ignore the darts. They will rethink who they will support when buying power returns to their hands.

On the home front, Piraeus is still one of the most convenient and safe, fast and low-priced ports to lift bunkers. And the Greek bunkering sector is even now restructuring and developing. One of Greece’s biggest and most reputable suppliers, Jetoil, has restructured and repositioned itself in the fuel market, while a new one, Phoenix Oliehandel, has emerged.

There has been a drastic decline in sales, and most Greek brokers and traders still left standing are dealing with a highly competitive and saturated bunker sales market. The last remaining Greek bunker traders have merged into international ones, Oils Overseas into Navig8.

Significantly, Greece’s pride and joy, Aegean Marine, is enjoying continuing growth. ELPE, the country’s refinery, is growing and moving into other energy sectors, like electricity.

For Greece, it is imperative that they survive, grow and excel to bring jobs to the people. You must remember the youth unemployment rate is 50%.

To add to the challenges, there are more than a handful of Greek owners I know that are dealing with OW Bunkeror ING-related lawsuits, trying to get out of paying the same bunker bill twice while facing high legal fees.

It’s Greek to me! Like a Greek tragedy, it is almost as funny as it is sad. But the Greek shipping community is very resilient, very tough and will survive.

D

evelopments in the offshore sector have inevitably had their effect on projects in the Eastern Mediterranean – not least as far as Cyprus’s oil development projects are concerned.

According to Nicholas Argyrou, general manager of Limassol-based Bunkernet, “Cyprus offshore remains on the back burner”, and “amplifying the situation of the international downturn of the international offshore sector is the political dimension in Cyprus with regard to offshore development projects”.

BG Group announced in November 2015 it had taken a 35% holding in Block 12 offshore Cyprus, which includes the Aphrodite gas discovery. This upstream position provides a potential source of gas to Egypt, where BG Group holds equity in the two-train LNG export facility at Idku, as well as LNG offtake rights to lift 3.6 million tonnes a year.

Operated by Noble Energy, the Aphrodite gas discovery is approximately 170km south of Limassol.

According to comments by government officials, the privatisation of Limassol port, which has been going through parliament, could result in €2 billion worth of revenue being generated over 25 years, although privatisation plans have been the target of industrial action by port workers concerned about the future.

According to Argyrou, a new tariff regime will be announced, based on the new operator’s pricing policy.

Commenting on the bunker situation, he said there are no current issues with product availability, although there is certainly more demand for MGO 0.1%.

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Turkey Despite falling passing ship numbers, volumes delivered by Turkey’s bunker suppliers are increasing

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s the chairman of the Turkish Bunker Association, Deniz Eraydin, is keen to point out, the Istanbul Strait is one of the world’s eight most strategically important waterways. It is served by five physical bunker suppliers in Istanbul. Arkas Bunkering, CYE Petrol, Enerji Petrol, Petrol Ofisi and Socar Marine.

Eraydin tells World Bunkering that Istanbul has many local advantages.

He says: “In the Istanbul anchorage area, 80 agents’ boats are working for ship supplies. Turkey is an agricultural country, which makes food supplies more economical. There are two international airports in Istanbul – something that makes crew changes easier. Very close to the anchorage area are around 100 shipyards, with hundreds of skilled workers, makings ship repairs very convenient for shipowners.”

But Eraydin says it takes more than geographical advantages to make somewhere a preferred supply port. He says: “We know very well that we have to invest in supply port infrastructure.

In Turkey, physical bunker suppliers are investing for the bunker market.

Today, 16 double-hull bunker barges are undertaking bunker deliveries.”

He continues: “In Turkish ports, the lowest bunker product quality is ISO8217:2005, and MARPOL Annex

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VI bunker supply procedures are mandatory. The Turkish bunker market is becoming more competitive, while physicals are increasing the quality of bunker supplies.”

Eraydin emphasises how Turkish suppliers increased sales in a shrinking market. He says: “During 2013, around 47,000 vessels passed through the Istanbul Strait, and 15,000 vessels were supplied in Turkish ports with 1.6 million tonnes of bunker products.

During 2014, only around 46,000 vessels passed through the Istanbul Strait, but 17,000 vessels were supplied in Turkish ports with 1.8 million tonnes

of bunker product. Then, in 2015, a record low of around 43,000 vessels went past, but 20,000 vessels were supplied in Turkish ports with 2.2 million tonnes bunker product.

“While shipping activity is decreasing in the East Mediterranean and Black Sea areas, the Turkish bunker market share is increasing. This is not a coincidence.

The Turkish bunker industry is investing in bunker barges, terminals and quality. While competition together with investments is making life very difficult for physical suppliers, Istanbul has become a well-known trouble-free bunker supply port.”

CYE’s modern bunker barge Beykoz-E

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Bunkering visiting cruise ships is important to the Turkish market. © Energy Petrol

with a limited market. In this respect, there may be a local market, provided the regulatory framework is in place, but this is not an agenda item in Turkey for the time being.”

He says that environmental regulations are already in force in Turkey, and ships must burn 0.1% sulphur product when in Turkish ports, so the country is up to speed with international rules in this respect.

As far as cooperation with other countries in the Eastern Mediterranean on bunker issues is concerned, Muhtaroglu says Turkey is in a very strategic location. It is the gateway between the countries bordering the Black Sea, the Aegean and the Mediterranean, as well as to the Far East via the Suez Canal, with connections to North-West Europe and North America via the Straits of Gibraltar.

He says that, given the political and economic situation in surrounding countries like Syria, Egypt and Libya, Turkey can provide shipowners with a safe location for their shipping needs, and that there is little competition.

“The other competing country in the southern region is clearly Greece, an important shipping hub with a strong volume of business. But this does not harm Istanbul much from a competitive perspective, with both countries getting their share of the business,” he says.

Commenting on IBIA, he says it is an international association and that the IBIA board has to include representatives from every continent. He represents Turkey, and just as Turkey has always been described as the bridge between Europe and Asia, he feels he is acting as a bridge for IBIA connecting the Black Sea, Aegean, East Mediterranean and the Middle East to the association’s head

office in the UK. He believes this is why he was voted onto the board at IBIA and says that he will do his best to increase awareness and the membership base in the area for IBIA. He adds that he is keen to increase his participation in IBIA and to promote it as an international association with international drive, which is not restricted to “a few nations”.

Turkish Bunker Association chairman Eraydin is chief executive of CYE Petrol, which, he notes, was established in 1988, and is “the oldest bunker company in Turkey that is acting as a physical bunker supplier only”. He says that the company does not focus on high volume or lowest price, but aims to provide the right quantity of on-spec bunkers at the market price. He stresses that all CYE Petrol’s investments are dedicated to improving supply and product quality.

He says it is the only bunker company in Turkish ports that is using mass flow meters voluntarily during bunker stems.

In 2014, the company took delivery of the newbuild 1,805 dwt bunker barges Beykoz-E and Kalamis-E. These sistership, new-generation, double-hull bunker barges are each equipped with two main engines and bow thrusters for high manoeuvring ability, plus two Emerson Coriolis mass flow meters for precise bunker supply.

Meanwhile, Arkas Bunkering has also been growing rapidly. It says that, according to the 2015 Fuel Oil Market Report prepared by Turkey’s Energy Market Regulatory Authority, it had the largest share of the Turkish market, with a total of 677,001 tonnes supplied.

That represents year-on-year growth of 53%. In November 2015, the company added Turkey’s biggest bunker barge, Cesme, to its fleet, which now numbers six vessels.

Eastern Mediterranean

In a similar vein, the founder of supplier Energy Petrol and IBIA board member Mustafa Muhtaroglu says Istanbul will always be a strategic location for shipping and bunkering.

However, Muhtaroglu says it is hard to increase volume further for a number of reasons, such as infrastructure problems and heavy competition from Russian ports like Novorossiysk, where bunkers are very cheap.

He says it is a measure of Istanbul’s success that it has been able to maintain volumes and even increase them while prices at Novorossiysk are at such a low level. He quotes an example on the day of Istanbul 380cst being priced at about US$185 plus barging costs, compared with Novorossiysk pricing of about $135 delivered to the ship, thus attracting many operators to bunker there.

However some 20,000 ships are bunkering in Turkey every year, so there is a stable market “which is very much the result of the very good quality and service we provide in Turkey. It is a trouble-free, high-quality, good-service market”. Some 55 barges are deployed, and he sees Istanbul continuing to be one of the key supply hubs going forward.

He explains that there have never been regular supplies of low-sulphur fuel oil in Turkey. In fact, there is little demand for the product, as most ships passing the Turkish Straits are either staying in the Mediterranean or going to the Far East. Very few go on to enter emission control areas But while there is currently no market at all in Turkey, he adds that close attention is being paid to the situation likely to develop when the global cap is introduced and the supply position then. The future seems likely to be in distillates, he suggests.

As far as liquefied natural gas (LNG) is concerned, there is an LNG terminal near Istanbul. However, Muhtaroglu says: “I do not expect significant LNG business in Turkey soon. In fact, our regulations have not yet even defined LNG as a bunker product.”

LNG cannot be provided as bunker fuel under current regulations, so the legal issue will need to be tackled in the first instance, he believes. “ I don’t think ships loading in Ukraine, going to China, will be bunkering LNG. I think LNG bunkering will be rather for local ferries

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Americas Jacksonville will be TOTE’s LNG bunkering base, and could serve the same role for others as well © Jaxport

New opportunities John Rickards surveys the bunker scene in the Americas and the Caribbean

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s we enter the second quarter of 2016, at the time of going to press, there’s one factor set to make serious waves across the Americas, and particularly the US East Coast, Central America and the Caribbean, and that’s the full opening of the widened Panama Canal.

Lock replacement was completed in January, with a crack in the no. 3 sill of the new Cocoli locks repaired in February without causing further delays. Grupo Unidos por el Canal, the consortium behind the expansion programme, has begun mechanical testing, and as we go to press, trial vessel movements through the wider waterway are due to start ahead of the expected inauguration in May.

With 12,000 teu post-Panamax vessels, as well as tankers up to Suezmax in size and gas carriers up to around 200,000m3, able to route through Panama, industry analysts have long been suggesting that a surge in vessel traffic will benefit both Panama’s own fuel market and those of the US East Coast, in particular, the Caribbean and the northern coastal ports of Colombia. It would be natural to expect bunker suppliers to expand operations in the areas most likely to benefit. So, has this happened?

The short answer is yes, but how much of that is owing to new traffic patterns is debatable.

Estonia’s Arte Bunkering opened its first office outside northern Europe in January, adding Fort Lauderdale, Florida,

What happens in Panama when the wider canal opens could have a major knock-on effect across the region © Patrick Denker

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to its established network in Tallinn, Kaliningrad and Hamburg.

The managing director of the new office, Seva Tkachenko, told World Bunkering: “The expansion of our company to the Americas region, and the US in particular, cannot be underestimated: over the years, we have grown our clientele base, and it has long been the case that our partners have requirements on a worldwide basis, with the Americas not an exception. Having physical presence in this particular market, and time zone, is vital for our business.”

However, he denies that the wider Canal – and the potential growth in post-Panamax, Europe-US-Asia trade through it – was behind the decision.

“This move comes naturally as part of our company’s growth plan/strategy to be physically present in all major markets and time zones,” he says. “This will as well strengthen Arte Bunkering’s position as a global trader being able to see all the markets as a whole, rather than treating all markets separately…

[The decision] is more focused on improving our relationship as a supplier to our customer, being able to offer broader services and market intel, as well as growing our market share in the bunker industry.

“Apart from having physical presence in this region, and being able to service customers who are

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Colombia could be a key growth area if companies like Monjasa and Dan-Bunkering are right © Carol C

based outside the Americas, we bring our vast knowledge of the European, Mediterranean, Russian, Middle East and other markets to customers based in the Americas,” he adds.

“The European and Russian markets, in particular, are not as mature as the US, for example, in terms of the number of suppliers for each port (Europe typically has more suppliers for one given port) and the number of ports themselves/trading patterns.

[This requires] in-depth knowledge of the market and the options available as they are ever-changing, and we are always on top of that. We are now able to [offer] bunkering solutions for long voyages/trades, wherever the route may lead the vessel.”

Denmark’s Monjasa Group is also eyeing growth in the region, particularly on the Gulf coast of Mexico, in Panama and in Colombia. The company announced earlier this year that it is planning to double its Panama City staff numbers over the next year or two. The company cites energy reform in Mexico, which is expected to drive demand for marine fuels, as well as oil product imports and exports in the region, over the next five years.

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Rasmus Jacobsen, managing director of Monjasa Americas, says: “We have been active in Mexico since the opening of our US office in Stamford in 2011.

Up until 2014, Monjasa’s primary focus had been on the west coast of Mexico, but recently our eyes have been on market developments in the Gulf of Mexico as well. This is truly a large-scale market, and Monjasa is supplying the international shipping market here as well as domestic clients.”

He is less specific about the company’s aims in Colombia, but is still optimistic for the future. “Following Monjasa’s launch of bunker services in both Pacific and Atlantic port areas, we are fully convinced that we are able to make a difference for clients in this still emerging Colombian market. With our vast experience from hard-to-reach markets in the Middle East and West Africa, we have all the right ingredients to continue to develop excellent supply services in Colombia,” he says.

In late 2015, US-based World Fuel Services (WFS) also looked to boost its Central American staff numbers, launching a recruitment drive to increase the size of its Costa Rican workforce by 50% for 2016, according to the country’s English-

language newspaper, Tico Times. The company’s Lindora operation provides services for WFS clients worldwide. At the time of the announcement, WFS said that the decision was made on the basis of the office’s performance and the qualification level of the Costa Rican workforce.

It’s not just Monjasa looking to make the most of the Colombian market, either. Denmark’s Dan-Bunkering signed a partnership agreement at the end of 2015 with Australian Bunkers to offer physical supplies in the Colombian port of Buenaventura. Pedro Gomez, head of Dan-Bunkering’s Chilean subsidiary, says that “the timing is ideal” and that “the strategic location is perfect”.

“Dan-Bunkering will handle all sales and will provide risk management, while Australian Bunkers, [which has] been present in the area of Buenaventura since 1998, will handle the sourcing, blending, supply and storage of the products,” says a company statement.

Dan-Bunkering has existing offices in Chile and Uruguay, while Australian Bunkers has operated in Colombia for 15 years.

Colombia hasn’t been an easy market to crack in recent times. In autumn last year, German David Perez,

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commercial director of PetroBunkers, which opened for business at the start of 2015, told World Bunkering: “2014 was the worst year in the bunker industry, [and] as a result of this bad year, Bunkers International and Petrocosta [saw business go down]. 2015 has been a good year for us; our costs are low compared with others, and our marketing strategy is our best strength.

“The most relevant factor in the Colombian bunker industry is prices in Panama. Colombian ports are a part of the huge trade in the Caribbean, so if prices are cheaper in Panama, demand in Colombia will be going down. A perfect example is last August, when sales [fell] 50%.”

“Launching this kind of business is very difficult, you need experience, knowledge, and of course all the permissions and licenses to develop this kind of industry, [which are] not easy to get.” He remained optimistic about 2016’s prospects, though, saying that the company was always looking for better.

Further south, Aegean Marine Petroleum Network has also entered the Latin American market. By the time this publication goes to press, it will have opened an office in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which will handle physical supply and trading across the region.

“This office will support Aegean’s goal of growing its global footprint with minimal start-up costs and position the company well for continued expansion in the region into South America,” says Aegean president E. Nikolas Tavlarios.

Like Colombia, Brazil isn’t an easy market to crack, albeit for different reasons. With Petrobras serving as the country’s sole producer of bunker fuel, as well as operating as an important supplier in its own right, any newcomer has to work hard to make an impact.

The Caribbean, meanwhile, has started to see some signs of new developments again, after the initial collapse in oil prices a couple of years ago put a halt to expansion and renovation projects across the region.

In the US Virgin Islands, American equity firm ArcLight Capital and commodities trader Freepoint, which supplies oil to Puerto Rico’s power industry, announced in December that they were planning to buy the bankrupt Hovensa refinery site in St Croix. They aim to turn it into a major oil storage hub, with a capacity of up to 30 million barrels, up from the current 13 million barrel storage. The deal will see majority ownership go to ArcLight, with up to US$125 million in new investment, on top of a reported maximum purchase price of US$370 million, covering Hovensa’s bankruptcy estate. This is reportedly contingent on China’s Sinopec taking a 10-year lease on most of that capacity, which the company duly agreed to, as it seeks to acquire storage space for Chinese-owned crude oil from Latin America. The Hovensa refinery, previously owned by Hess and Petróleos de Venezuela, closed four years ago.

In the Cayman Islands, the seemingly mothballed idea of replacing George Town’s ageing fuel storage tanks and building a new facility for bunkers and domestic fuel use – originally mooted two years ago, before being deprioritised by the government – has been back in the news. In December, a pressure group in the islands stepped up its campaign to see a new development go ahead,

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The Caribbean fuel and energy trade could yet see the expansion and renovation that some parts of it need © Prayitno

and said it had been in discussions with Navasota Energy, the US company originally brought in by the government to explore available options, over ways to move ahead. The group said that it wants to see the old 350,000 barrel tanks replaced with a new storage and transshipment hub of between three and five million barrels, with the aim of reducing fuel prices on the islands and greatly improving the country’s energy trading capability. While both Navasota and planning minister Kurt Tibbetts have generally declined to comment to World Bunkering on the likelihood of such a development going ahead, it’s clear that some on the islands, at least, are keen to see this happen.

One development definitely not going ahead as planned, at least in terms of its intended timescale, is the mooted US$50 billion Nicaragua Canal. In November last year, China’s HKND Group, the project’s developer, announced that construction work on locks and major excavations would not begin until the end of this year. It didn’t explain the reason for the delay, but said that its design “is currently being fine-tuned”.

The project has already been dogged by controversy, facing protests from indigenous community groups likely to be affected by construction, environmentalists, and others. It has

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also faced continued questions over its financing, especially after a sharp fall in the Chinese stock market, also in November last year, saw the value of HKND head Wang Jing’s personal fortune slashed. The company insists that as an international project it is not affected by domestic stock fluctuations, and that financial backing will come from global investors and a possible initial public offering, but details remain hard to come by.

Nevertheless, HKND inked a deal with UK group BMT in December to develop an operation plan and assessments for the canal and new port infrastructure around it. “We are seeking to access BMT’s global network of subject-matter experts to assemble a highly capable, technical team to address the canal’s marine safety and traffic challenges from all angles,” said K W Pang, HKND’s executive vice-president.

BMT said it would be looking to work on the canal’s design to minimise excavation, while ensuring adequate capacity and safety. BMT said it would also be responsible for updating the canal’s business case for Pacific and Caribbean ocean ports, identifying the ports’ potential competitive positioning.

In February this year, separate from the ongoing canal development, Nicaragua’s National Port Company (EPN) announced it was planning to

build a US$400 million new terminal at Bilwi, Puerto Cabezas, on the country’s Caribbean coast, to handle cargo currently shipped through Limón in Costa Rica and Cortés in Honduras.

Bilwi’s expansion will enable it to handle 4 million tonnes of cargo per year.

The government is also investing $224 million in other port modernisations and expansions across the country.

In North America, and particularly the US, it has been liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering making waves over the past few months. At the end of 2015, a trio of companies announced a partnership arrangement to launch an “end-to-end solution” for LNG bunkering on the Gulf Coast and inland waterways. Siemens Drilling and Marine, Siemens’ Dresser-Rand and Lloyd’s Register are planning to build either a shore- or barge-based LNG liquefaction plant, using DresserRand’s portable cargo-container-based LNGo™ liquefaction plant, an LNG bunkering barge with 2,500m3 capacity, and a river pushboat, to be built at Conrad Industries in Texas.

“In putting together this team of leaders in the marine and LNG space, our integrated solution, encompassing the entire supply chain of LNG, including gas-fuelled marine propulsion systems, will remove the chicken-and-egg hurdle from the LNG equation,” says David

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Grucza, director at Siemens Drilling and Marine. “This is a disruptive concept for the maritime industry, and the technology exists for immediate adoption.”

The three companies say that covering everything from procurement and liquefaction through to bunker delivery will help them avoid common obstacles to the use of LNG bunkers.

Speaking to World Bunkering, a spokesman for Siemens says: “Long term, we see LNG as a good fit for a marine fuel. We feel bringing together the liquefaction, bunker barge and pushboat as a first step helps solve the ‘what comes first – the chicken or the egg’ problem. Given their routes and operating profiles, we feel pushboats are a great first place to start and a good potential first adopter in the US. Once the market starts to shift and the bunkering facilities start to build out to serve pushboats, we will see other segments follow.”

The niche Siemens has identified as the best first market is inland shipping, operating between the Gulf Coast and ports upriver, rather than going straight for ocean-going vessels.

“Given the number of pushboats on the Mississippi,” the spokesperson says, “we anticipate that route would be the first to develop and, as above, we expect the logistics to deliver LNG to continue to grow. However, we are all here to serve the market and our customers. Once the customers and the market understand that we can put the bunkering and demand together, they will determine the region and the area.”

Being able to provide its own liquefaction – and mobile liquefaction at that – is something he believes will give the project a huge advantage, and, he hopes, will affect potential customer interest. “Since [the LNGo™ plant] is mobile and it carries the requisite regulatory approvals, a customer’s investment risk is mitigated. Specifically, if they didn’t pick the correct bunkering site, they can literally pick up and move the LNGo™ to a better bunkering site.

Hence, they don’t have the risk of a stranded asset.”

Regulatory standards for LNG bunkering are still in something of a state of flux – the incoming International Code of Safety for Ships using Gases or other Low-flashpoint Fuels has only a

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loose reference to LNG bunkering. And, while the US Coast Guard issued its own guidelines last year, these have already been updated going into 2016 – and the work still to be done to set clear, definite best practice remains, along with infrastructure, one of the biggest hurdles for LNG to overcome. World Bunkering asked Siemens whether this made having a class society like Lloyd’s Register, with its own experience in the field, an important part of this type of venture. The spokesman’s response was categorical: “Yes, regulatory compliance and the current state of the regulations is a challenge. Having Lloyd’s and its experience is a critical part of the team.”

Mobile liquefaction isn’t the only way to enter the market, of course. In Florida, WesPac and Pivotal LNG are aiming to have a larger-scale, fixed gas liquefaction and LNG bunkering plant operational not long after this magazine goes to press, according to a joint announcement from the companies in January. The facility is intended to serve the needs of containership operator TOTE. Two of its LNG-powered boxships, the first of their kind, left the NASSCO yard in San Diego late last year, but the plant will also be able to supply other customers.

“With this landmark agreement, WesPac has secured property in Jacksonville for the construction of the

first LNG liquefaction facility supplying marine fuel in North America. Together with our partners, Pivotal LNG and TOTE, we’ve effectively established LNG as the fuel of the future for marine vessels in the US,” says Dave Smith, president at WesPac. Pivotal LNG president Steve Cittadine added that the plant “positions us well to serve the fuelling needs of our current and future customers in the southeast, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands and, potentially, the broader Caribbean market”.

TOTE is also building a 2,200m3 LNG bunker barge at the Conrad Industries yard in Texas, the same yard slated to construct the barge for Siemens. TOTE’s barge will operate between ship and shore, and safety system engineering and analysis – one of the key factors affecting LNG bunker uptake and usage – is being handled by Aqualis Offshore.

With companies like TOTE and Siemens pushing ahead with LNG bunker provision, US gas production surging ahead, and the US traditional fuels market dogged by surcharges left over from the oil price peaks of the past and facing proposals such as a US$10-perbarrel tax on imported oil put forward in the most recent government budget request, it may be that the tipping point for mass LNG adoption in the region isn’t far off.

TOTE’s newbuild LNG-powered boxships are the first of their type in the world

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LNG Bunker Fuel

Weathering the oil price storm Grace Quinn, Senior Consultant at Baringa Partners, looks at the propects for LNG as a marine fuel in the light of the low oil price Background

Where we are today

Supply and Demand

The start of 2015 saw the shipping industry impacted by new global regulations which affect marine fuel specifications. The rules, from the International Maritime Organization (IMO), reduce the maximum level of sulphur emissions for all vessels travelling in an Emission Control Area (ECA) to 0.1%.

Any vessel that comes through these areas will now have to burn low sulphur fuel, such as Marine Gasoil (MGO) or Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), instead of Fuel Oil (FO). Alternatively, vessels can switch to exhaust gas scrubbing, which reduces sulphur emissions to acceptable levels before it enters the atmosphere.

This is part of a trend towards tackling sulphur emissions in all waters, whether or not they are part of an Emission Control Area. This limit was reduced in 2012 and will be reduced further in 2020, to 0.5%. However, there has been industry speculation that this could pushed back until 2025.

The EU, on the other hand, has committed to this 0.5% limit as mandatory in EU waters by 2020.

This has fuelled controversy from the shipping industry as potential IMO delays would leave the EU at a competitive disadvantage to the rest of the world.

In recent years the cost of compliance has been a mounting concern for ship owners and operators. However, these new regulations arrive at a time when oil prices are falling, which has allowed ECA compliant MGO to present itself as a feasible option. Previously, the price of MGO has been considered by many to be prohibitive as a long term compliance option. As a result the investment landscape for those investing in alternatives to MGO has significantly changed. For example a reduction in the price differential between High Sulphur Fuel Oil (HSFO) and MGO will negatively impact the payback time for scrubbers.

The gas market has not mirrored the significant fall in price witnessed by crude oil. Consequently, the price advantage once offered by LNG as an alternative to MGO no longer yields the same value. As a result, the business case for LNG as a bunker fuel is significantly more challenging in the near term.

For many owners this lower oil price has given them time to hold back on investment decisions about scrubbers or switching to LNG, both of which require significant capital investment. However, despite these obstacles, the momentum for LNG as a bunker fuel continues.

The global supply of LNG is set to expand over the next few years as production increases and new supplies emerge; developments in Russia, the US and Australia (which aims to be the world’s largest export nation) will be major contributors to this influx.

While this supply boom will support the already growing appetite for LNG as a bunker fuel, the short-term picture is one of oversupply as global demand will not increase at the same pace, particularly if current oil price levels remain.

LNG as a marine fuel has already been embraced in Northern Europe and North America. According to Transparency Market Research, the market for LNG as a bunker fuel will expand at a rate of more than 60% a year for the next ten years.

The expansion of ECA regions is likely to be a large component of this increased demand, as is the growth of LNG bunkering in Asia due to tighter regulations on sulphur emissions.

China has recently published an action plan which promotes LNG as a marine fuel and supports the establishment of China’s own ECAs. Additional proposals have also been put forward to extend ECAs to Japan and Southeast Asia.

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LNG Bunker Fuel

Promotion of LNG as a bunker fuel also contributes to this growth forecast, although this does vary from region to region. The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) has recenlty issued its first two LNG bunker supplier licences. Singapore plans to establish both a jetty for LNG bunkering and a station to supply bunkers by truck.

Such activity will likely broaden the market and the appetite for LNG as a bunker fuel.

Progress since January 2015

The first year of ECA regulation has seen some significant progress in establishing LNG as a global marine fuel. Recent regulations have clearly established a design for LNG-fuelled vessels and provided a much needed international framework, representing an important step in the adoption of LNG as a bunker fuel.

Although there have been questions about compliance, the results so far have been encouraging, especially in Europe. Data submitted to the European Union (EU) reports that of 1,458 ships inspected in Q1 2015, 6% (89) showed non-compliance, mostly related to documentation errors. Only 1.4% of non-compliance was based on fuel sulphur tests. Figures from Denmark suggested that 98% of the ships which passed an emissions monitoring station in the Great Belt complied with the ECA sulphur limits.

Progress within the LNG bunker market has heavily relied on key stakeholder ‘buy-in’. In the past year some significant players have come to the table. For example: • Carnival Corporation, the world’s

largest cruise company, has thrown its weight behind LNG by ordering what it says will be the first cruise ships able to run liquefied natural gas (LNG) • Shell plans to charter LNG-powered

barges for use in northwest Europe from late 2016 while North America’s first LNG bunker barge is scheduled to be launched in February

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Initiatives to further support LNG can be seen by port authorities in Europe. For instance in Rotterdam a discount on port fees is applicable for vessels loading LNG bunkers until 2020.

Ongoing Challenges

The adoption of LNG as a marine fuel does, however, face numerous challenges. There is continued uncertainty around regulatory developments, especially around when the global sulphur cap of 0.5% will be introduced. This, coupled with a low oil price, does not create a climate which entices capital investment, particularly when alternatives are available at an affordable price.

The pricing dynamics of LNG also continue to challenge the industry, as globally they can vary quite considerably. For example, an increase in global supply is expected to soften the global spot LNG price but that does not necessarily translate to lower prices. Ambiguity surrounding LNG pricing is largely as a result of uncertainty around how LNG will be indexed in the bunker market; as an oil-indexed price or a gas-indexed price based on National Balancing Point.

More recently, methane leakage has been raised as a potential downside to LNG; methane is the primary component of natural gas and a potent greenhouse gas emission. Methane leakage during the bunkering process can undermine the greenhouse gas advantages otherwise offered by LNG. A study was released by the US Maritime Administration (MarAd), conducted for the agency by the University of Delaware and the Rochester Institute of Technology. It found that a leak of about 1% of methane during bunkering, for example, led to an approximate 10% increase in net greenhouse gas emissions.

The good news however is that leaks can be mitigated through early detection and monitoring.

Further research, understanding and compliance procedures are required across the marine industry but progress is being made. For example the

American Bureau of Shipping, as part of its risk assessment framework, has identified four initiating events that give rise to methane emissions.

One of the biggest hurdles to LNG as a global marine fuel is the perception that there is a lack of infrastructure to support it, which has hampered investment from ship owners. Suppliers on the other hand have sought evidence of demand, which for many has progressed to committing to investment. To date, infrastructure to support truck delivery has dominated the market which can be restrictive for larger vessels and trades.

While the spot market for bunkers still has some way to go in satisfying owner or operator requirements, current plans and developments suggest this gap may close over the next few years.

Outlook for LNG

The past year has shown that in the face of uncertainty, pursuing a flexible strategy could be the answer. Choosing dual fuel engines that can burn both gas and fuel oil and can be converted to LNG will go some way towards risk mitigation. For others, their preference has been a strategy which provides bargaining power in the short term for a long-term opportunity, LNG fuelled vessels.

The price relationship between HSFO, MGO, LNG and alternative fuels will continue to underpin the business case for LNG investment. However, advancements in infrastructure, LNG production and increasing demand in the LNG bunker market suggests that stakeholders expect continued tightening of regulatory requirements and a return to higher oil prices.

While there are a lot of favourable trends enabling LNG bunkering, its cost competitiveness remains uncertain. The challenge today is making decisions in the near term which do not restrict margin retention in the long term; in other words ‘future-proofing’ your business model.

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Testing

Concern over ISO revisions Veritas Petroleum Services is uneasy about some of the proposed changes to the international ISO8217 specifications for marine fuels

A

s this issue of World Bunkering went to print, the International Organization for Standardization was moving towards the final stages of agreeing the contents of the Draft International Standard 8217 on bunker quality.

Testing company Veritas Petroleum Services (VPS) warns that: “Areas of significance include proposed changes that may be unfavourable to shipowners and operators.”

VPS notes that under general requirements, clause 5.3 of the fifth and current version of ISO8217:2012 states that “fuels shall be free from any material that renders the fuel unacceptable for use in marine applications”. There is also explicit mention in clause 5.5 that “the fuel shall not contain any additive at the concentration used in the fuel, or any added substance or chemical waste that jeopardises the safety of the ship or adversely affects the performance of the machinery, or is harmful to personnel, or contributes overall to additional air pollution”.

However, VPS notes that this statement, emphasising the importance of safety for the ship, crew and environment, has been dropped from the Draft International Standard ISO8217.

The proposed Clause 5.2 simply states that “the fuel shall be free from any material at a concentration that causes the fuel to be unacceptable for use in accordance with the scope of this International Standard”.

Surprisingly, the draft new standard acknowledges the inadequacy of this

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statement by noting that “determining the concentration of a material that causes the fuel to be unacceptable for use is not straightforward”.

Gerard Rohaan, chief executive of VPS, says: “This change to clause 5 overlooks the fact the international marine fuel standard, ISO8217, was introduced to govern fuel quality with an implied need to ensure seaworthiness of the ship. This spirit of the fuel quality standard should not be compromised by semantics.”

Tanker owners’ body Intertanko is also worried. Its senior technical manager, Ian Harrison, says: “We are concerned that while a reference to a ‘de minimis’ level of fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) for DMA, DMZ, DMB and RM grades is retained, the clarification of what is meant by ‘de minimis’ in Annex A has been increased from 0.1% to 0.5% by volume.”

He continued: “Our understanding is that the ‘de minimis’ level is a tolerance to allow for trace contamination of fuel. Increasing the limit to 0.5% goes beyond such a philosophy and potentially leads us down to path of arguing how much FAME is in the fuel, whether this meets the spec, or whether it may damage the engine – we could find ourselves arguing about limits of a substance that should not be in the fuel in the first place. We have concerns that the response to experience of contamination is to relax the requirement, rather than improve fuel quality to meet the standard.”

VPS also points to an issue with clause 8 on precision and interpreta-

tion of test results. VPS says that the clause effectively makes ISO4259 a requirement when interpreting test results in a dispute case. It notes that the recipient cannot consider a product out of specification “unless the test result exceeds the specification limit value by more than the 95% confidence limit”. According to VPS, this relaxation of testing tolerances will allow the supplier to deliver a product well beyond the current maximum limits. For instance, the aluminiumsilicon limit set at 60 parts per million (ppm) will be allowed to go up to 72ppm. In fact, several engine manufacturers have recommended a limit of 15ppm.

“This would be cause for concern and we would appreciate further clarification on amendments to this clause and its consequences,” comments Harrison.

VPS is also concerned that the cloud point and cold filter plugging point was not included for the distillate fuel specifications. This means that pour point is still the only cold flow property determinant for distillate fuels. The testing agency says it has sufficient data to show that pour point alone is not sufficient guarantee, especially as it can be depressed by additives, thus giving the operator a false sense of safety.

Rohaan says: “We’re disappointed to learn that an additional parameter for cold flow properties, other than pour point, has not been included. Recent experience has shown this to be an issue, but there is only reference to cloud point and cold filter plugging point, rather than a requirement to test.”

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Russian update

Russian News A round-up of the latest developments on the Russian bunkering scene by Olga Bogacheva

Monopoly case ruling

The Russian Federal Anti-Monopoly Service (FAS) has ruled that two companies, Morspassluzhba Rosmorrechflota and Rosnefteflot, have overcharged for emergency oil spill response services for bunkering companies since the beginning of 2015. The case was brought by the Russian Association of Marine and River Bunker Suppliers.

The FAS found that Russia’s Federal Law On Protection of Competition had been violated. Both companies were ordered to comply with the law within three months and reduce their tariffs to justifiable levels.

Several years ago, the authorities made bunkering companies responsible for provision of urgent oil spill response services. It meant that each company had to either create its own emergency rescue unit (ERU), equipped with all the necessary equipment, or make an agreement with a professional service. Some big bunkering companies established ERUs, but for most this option was too expensive.

The number of emergency response services has decreased, with many private companies gradually ceasing their activity. Now Morspassluzhba Rosmorrechflota dominates in the majority of Russian ports, while in the far east it shares the market with Rosnefteflot, a Rosneft subsidiary.

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In 2014, the two companies simultaneously raised prices for their services severalfold. This meant that many private bunker suppliers found themselves struggling to survive, at which point they sought help from the Russian Association of Marine and River Bunker Suppliers.

Record fall in Russian bunker volumes

For the first time since Russia’s bunkering market emerged, total volumes sold have fallen. Fuel sales in 2015 amounted to 14.5 million tonnes – 13% lower than in 2014. The key reasons are obvious: the drop in world oil prices and reduced navigation activity in Russian ports. At the same time, the difference in bunker prices between Russia and the rest of the world fell almost twofold.

The far-eastern region remains the country’s largest bunker market, followed by north-western Russia at 4 million tonnes (14%) and the AzovBlack Sea basin at 2.3 million tonnes.

Krasnoyarsk signs deal to develop bunkering terminal at Kamchatka

Russia’s Far East Development Corporation JSC and Krasnoyarsk LLC have signed an investment agreement for construction of an 18,000-tonne light oil storage facility in Kamchatka.

As a result, Krasnoyarsk will become the first official resident of the Kamchatka priority development area (PDA).

The facility will provide bunkering services to shipping companies in Avachinskaya harbour.

The project will be implemented in three stages over two and a half years, says the Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East. The first stage, which will take 10 months, includes disassembling existing structures, relocating engineering networks, plus other construction work. The second, 12-month, stage will see new reservoirs with a total capacity of 11,000 tonnes commissioned. During the final eightmonth stage, further storage facilities with a capacity of 7,000 tonnes will be put into operation. At full capacity, the project is expected to handle 98,000 tonnes of light fuel annually.

“All the necessary sites, power and transport infrastructure are available for the project,” says Dmitry Korostelev, deputy minister for economic development of Kamchatka Territory.

“We believe that implementation of this project will not only improve business activity in the region but will also stimulate competition in Kamchatka.”

The government resolution on the foundation of the Kamchatka PDA was approved on 28 August 2015.

The project will focus on two major specialisations: port services and tourist and recreational activities.

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The Russian Association of Marine and River Bunker Suppliers’ ninth Russian Forum will take place on 23-24 June in St Petersburg and will consider the state of the Russian bunker services market and prospects for development.

In addition to discussions about current industrial issues, the programme includes several innovations, including practical seminars. One of these will look at environmental design documentation for bunkering operations and gaining approval. It will cover what bunkering operators consider to be the most complicated and expensive part of the requisite paperwork.

LNG Gorskaya plans floating liquefied natural gas storage plant

LNG Gorskaya LLC has launched a project to build a non-self-propelled barge equipped with 7,000-tonne liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage tanks and a regasification plant. This will enable Gorskaya to market its products from European ports.

Maris OOO, the contractor, has already submitted a concept design for the vessel, according to a company

spokesman. The floating facility will consist of a barge 125.8m long and 24m wide.

Maris OOO, based in Astrakhan, specialises in the construction of one-off marine facilities. In 2015, it completed a residential module onboard a nonself-propelled, self-lifting construction platform ordered by Lukoil.

Black Sea sales put Gazprom Neft Marine Bunker in the lead

Gazprom Neft Marine Bunker reports that its business in the Black Sea region expanded in 2015.

Volumes in the southern ports of Novorossiysk, Tuapse, Sochi, Taman, Kavkaz and Temryuk increased by 22% to 795,000 tonnes.

Barge deliveries in the Black Sea totalled 682,000 tonnes, again a 22% increase.

This brings the company’s market share in the Black Sea region to just over 20%, making it the biggest player in the market.

Last year, Gazprom Neft Marine Bunker began work on modernising its terminal. As a result of the project, tank storage capacity will be doubled.

Gazprom Neft tanker delivers millionth tonne

In January 2016, the Gazprom Neft tanker South-East delivered her millionth tonne of marine fuel since coming into service. The million tonne mark was passed in a stem for Hong Kong-flag bulk carrier Mineral Hope.

The vessel was built in 2012 and is the newest in Gazprom Neft Marine Bunker’s fleet. She is also the company’s only owned bunker tanker in the far east.

The vessel has been serving since January 2013, and has performed 303 bunkering operations during this period.

Gazprom Neft Marine Bunker’s fleet consists of nine bunkering tankers, with a total deadweight in excess of 38,000 tonnes. These vessels provide bunkering services in north-western, far eastern and Black Sea ports, as well as beyond Russian territorial waters. The company’s policy is to buy vessels that are less than 10 years old. It does not operate vessels that are more than 25 years old.

Russian update

Innovations for bunker forum

“Even the strictest regulations must be followed” An interview with Vladimir Zhigulsky, director of St Petersburg-based environmental consultancy Eco Express Service, by Olga Bogacheva OB: Vladimir, you are an experienced specialist in industrial environmental protection. Eco Express Service has been providing expertise to companies working in Russian ports for at least 20 years.

Can you comment on the widespread opinion that Russia’s environmental laws are among the strictest in the world?

VZ: I don’t know of any experts who could accurately make such a comparison.

There are no suitable scales to measure severity or responsibility. There is only one thing we can definitely conclude – Russian environmental legislation covers and regulates all aspects of project implementation, from design and construction to usage and dismantling.

Our legislation clearly defines the actions of business entities under any

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circumstances and during the whole project lifecycle. I agree, there are the certain provisions that may be considered excessive and even harsh.

For example, the maximum permissible concentration (MPC) of oil products in fish farm reservoirs is 0.05 mg/litre. At the same time, the oil product content in drinking water must not exceed 0.3 mg/litre.

This means that water which babies may drink is not clean enough for discharge into fishery reservoirs.

Absurd, isn’t it? This strange situation has existed for a long time. All MPCs were established in the 1980s. We may only speculate about the reasons guiding the legislator at that time, but it’s obvious that those norms require correction.

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Russian update

OB: The number of contradictions grow with the number and complexity of regulations. Are there any examples in your practice where regulations were interpreted differently by businesses and authorities? What happens under these circumstances? It is possible to find compromises suiting both parties?

VZ: Our legislation is not only extensive but also complicated. Like our huge country, it has many roads where one can easily get lost. And misunderstandings arise regularly, of course. Often, the same figures, facts or provisions are interpreted differently by authorities and businesses.

I can go back to the above mentioned MPC case, for example. Russian supervisory bodies assign this norm to waste water. They assume that an oil terminal, like any other company, should discharge water of better quality than drinking water. That includes compliance with oil content norms.

But common sense does tend to come to the fore. So different interpretations of this norm exist and are used. It is stated in certain recommendations that MPCs should be observed at a control point, taking account of mixing with natural water. A lot of instructions and clarifications which are based on a similar approach can theoretically be used. Nevertheless, the supervisory authorities interpret the MPC norms in a straightforward fashion.

However, sometimes parties may reach compromise, especially when qualified environmental specialists or lawyers are involved in the case.

Then authorities are more likely to be persuaded to resolve the problem in an amicable way.

If a compromise can’t be reached, the case is considered in court. Natural resource users, as my experience shows, often win such cases. First of all, the decisions of supervisory authorities should be challenged formally for incorrectly registered protocols, for example. But it may be possible to find a successful way out, based on the facts of the case, if qualified environmental experts and lawyers are involved.

Sometimes cases are submitted to the court for the benefit of the supervisory authorities, in order to take the responsibility off their shoulders.

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OB: If the prime minister of the Russian Federation invited you to be his adviser, what would you advise him to do in order to improve the country’s bunkering industry development and simultaneously enhance environmental protection of its waters and shores?

VZ: Any legislation should take into account the current economic situation to harmonise relations between society and businesses working with hazardous substances like oil products.

We can discharge crystal-pure waste water, but it will be extremely expensive.

Besides, other nearby enterprises will most likely continue to discharge water with a significantly higher pollutant content because currently it is much cheaper to pay fines than to invest in updating treatment facilities.

Theoretically, the law allows a company’s activities to be suspended for up to six months under such circumstances, but in reality that doesn’t happen. When jobs are endangered, the issue immediately turns from an environmental focus to a socio-political focus, and the authorities can’t accept job losses. Laws are made up like that.

What is the sense of such strict legislation then? In my view, the principles of environmental legislation must be changed. Legislation should be focused on real minimisation of damage to environment rather than strict surveillance.

It also should stimulate the application of the best affordable technologies.

OB: What problems do bunker suppliers ask you to solve? Do you make their life easier or, on the contrary, more complicated?

VZ: There are no special requirements applying to bunker suppliers. But if they use terminals, vessels or quays, they must prepare, and get approval of, certain environmental documentation. Initially, they should conduct engineering and ecological research and an assessment of impact on the environment.

Then the project has to pass public hearings and obtain approval from the Federal Agency For Fishery. Finally, the whole package of documentation is submitted for state environmental assessment. The Commission of State Environmental Expertise determines if the environmental impact of the proposed facility is acceptable.

Construction is the next stage of the project. The following work is compulsory at this stage: environmental control, design of the waste treatment systems during the construction period, and emission controls. The most important document is an environmental impact assessment, which identifies necessary measures to minimise the impact on water resources.

There are two types of environmental costs. First the company may pay charges for negative impact on the aquatic environment, atmosphere and for waste disposal.

Secondly, companies may take certain actions to compensate for damage to the marine environment – for example, releasing young fish. There have been many cases where our specialists have resolved very confusing and, at first sight, insurmountable problems, helping bunker suppliers to avoid significant losses and, sometimes, even the collapse of their business.

St Petersburg

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business activity was minimal.

The whole process lasted for more than four years, and illustrates that, if you take professional advice into account, it is possible to do business – even in our hard times – without violating environmental regulations.

Unfortunately, in my view, development of environmental legislation is going in the wrong direction at present. Instead of encouraging businesses to acquire the best ecological solutions, we see poorly justified expansion of the number of companies that are required to meet strict and expensive ecological requirements. Big companies may have sufficient resources to meet the challenge, but, for small businesses, it is often a life-or-death issue.

A little more than a year ago, after yet another set of changes to environmental legislation, our company prepared a package of documents for internal use, which later proved to be relevant and effective in resolving local issues. This package may be helpful for many companies that work in inland sea waters, including bunker suppliers.

Bunkering companies often need to conduct various works at their facilities.

Sometimes, this work is urgent. But activity of any scale in inland waters requires preparation of a large number of documents to obtain approval from many government bodies, including SEE. This procedure takes approximately nine months, and often the company faces time constraints. I’m sure you will agree that spending nine months getting permission for a repair that will take a week is not the height of efficiency.

The key point underlying the approach proposed by our company is to start renovation earlier, avoiding the long period of preparing documentation, without violating environmental regulations and without any risk of commercial activities being suspended. This may be achieved by including developments in a package that outlines standard scenarios of work usually performed at port facilities – for example, repairing quays, cleaning the sea floor, repairing sewerage outputs, placing cables, etc.

We spent six months preparing this package, and now all documentation has

received the necessary permissions and SEE approval. We also advise our clients to put in place a standard contract, checked and approved by experienced lawyers, which allows the customer to start work based on this documentation.

Thus, our clients can make significant savings on both time and costs.

We have already put this into practice with several clients in the Finnish Gulf. A good example is the construction of the liquefied natural gas plant in Vyborg.

I would also like to mention another significant project to return the famous 1900 cruiser Aurora to its historical site at the Neva embankment in the centre of St Petersburg. This event will occur in July 2016.

By then, 50,000m3 of soil will have been dredged from the bottom of the Neva river. Under current regulations, extracted soil must be disposed of in the Finnish Gulf, an operation that demands SEE permission. In addition, such a disposal could never be considered efficient from an environmental point of view.

We proposed a better solution, namely to restore the bottom of the Finnish Gulf near Lakhta and recreate underwater landscapes. This includes reviving a smelt spawning area, which was destroyed by gravel extraction decades ago during construction at Vasilievsky Island, in the centre of St Petersburg. Restoration of underwater areas for fish culture also forms part of this documentation.

Thus we can solve two problems at once: saving time on preparation of documentation and combining the inevitable impact of dredging with the restoration of a fish habitat.

Accepting this strategy, the contractor will compensate for damage to water resources, which is compulsory.

Meanwhile, St Petersburg residents will benefit from the return of a traditional delicacy, fried smelt, to their tables.

Russian update

As an example, I will describe a case that ended recently. It involved a well-known company, which has been providing bunkering services in St Petersburg port for many years. To berth its vessels, it uses a facility consisting of a permanent quay and mooring dolphins.

Suddenly, the Public Prosecutor’s Transport Office found out that the dolphins, being an integral part of a quay, were installed without permission from the State Environmental Expertise (SEE) division. This was definitely a violation of environmental legislation.

Remedial actions were required, involving either dismantling the dolphins or obtaining SEE permission. The case was considered in court, which, eventually, confirmed the Prosecutor’s requirement.

At the same time as the court hearing, the company continued discussions with conservation authorities about certain provisions of the environmental regulations, which led finally to ruling out SEE permission.

Dismantling the dolphins became inevitable, and bailiffs were sent to enforce implementation. Our company carefully analysed the client’s situation and proposed a new strategy. First, we notified the bailiffs that, just like installing new ones, the dolphins could not be dismantled without SEE permission, because of their location in Russian inland waters. This meant that enforcement of the court resolution by bailiffs would be a violation of law.

This result could be considered acceptable by our client because it allowed the company to continue working for the time being. Then, as the dolphins were already in a rather poor condition and needed repair, a technical report on modernising the quay was prepared. This included replacement of the mooring dolphins.

As a part of the technical documentation, we prepared a detailed assessment of impact on the environment. The whole package was submitted to SEE, and approval was received. Now our customer could dismantle the existing dolphins, thus, executing the court decision on the absolutely legal grounds, and also put new mooring dolphins in place. The replacement of the dolphins took about one week, so any impact on

Eco Express Service has been working in St Petersburg since 1992. It provides surveys and ecological documentation as part of design and construction projects connected with construction, repairs, maintenance of waterworks, dredging, coast protection, pipeline and cable laying.

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Innovation

Wind of change Norsepower’s rotor sail has been proven to offer “clear and significant savings”

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innish engineering company Norsepower has installed a second rotor sail on Bore’s ro-ro carrier Estraden. Data analysis and verification by maritime software and services provider NAPA has, Norsepower says, been fundamental to these developments by proving the effectiveness of Norsepower’s technology.

A single Norsepower rotor sail was installed on the 9,700 dwt ro-ro in early 2015. Although the weather conditions were largely calm during the threemonth trial, data analysis provided by vessel performance monitoring and verification software ClassNK-NAPA GREEN demonstrated that the rotor sail delivered clear and significant savings of 2.5%.

Based on this evidence, Bore has ordered a second installation; the first commercial order for a rotor sail in shipping. Doubling the rotor sails has now proven to double fuel savings; NAPA recorded a 6.1% reduction in fuel consumption, avoiding 1,200 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions annually.

Measurement, analytics and third-party verification has helped Norsepower evolve its rotor sail from an innovative system for trial to a proven and marketable fuel efficiency technology with a clear business case.

In addition to the expanded market potential, this evidence has also helped

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Norsepower increase its enterprise value and secure the future of the business. A syndicate led by Power Fund III, a clean tech venture fund managed

by VNT Management, has invested €3 million to support Norsepower’s growth and market expansion.

Tuomas Riski, chief executive at Norsepower, comments: “Since delivering our first proven application with Bore last year, our business has grown from strength to strength. With this significant investment from VNT, and our first commercial installation, we have now cemented our position as a leader in the growing wind technology market. Objective data and impartial verification of the fuel savings delivered by the technology have been absolutely critical to this evolution and will remain central to the way in which we work with shipowners and operators.”

Jouni Salo, product manager, shipping solutions, at NAPA, comments: “Independent verification of Norsepower’s technology has required a significant and complex analysis process. The operating route of the vessel posed many challenges – from differing wind conditions to varying sea depths, all of which impact fuel consumption and had to be accounted for with randomised trialling, robust data collection and advanced statistical modelling. The results, however, have made it all worthwhile. The two-sail

installation is delivering the largest fuel saving of any efficiency technology NAPA has measured. We are talking about such figures as rotor sails being effective 80% of sailing time; a 460kW average propulsion boost; and 1.5MW peaking for 10% of the time. The fact that NAPA has not only proven this eco-efficiency technology but also boosted Norsepower’s enterprise value through orders and investment really shows the power of big data when applied correctly.”

The Norsepower Rotor Sail Solution is a modernised version of the Flettner rotor – a spinning cylinder that uses the Magnus effect to harness windpower to propel a ship. When the wind conditions are favourable, Norsepower Rotor Sails allow the main engines to be throttled back, saving fuel and reducing emissions while providing the power needed to maintain speed and voyage time. Rotor sails can be used with new vessels or can be retrofitted on existing ships without off-hire costs.

Alfa Laval Test and Training Centre expansion

The Alfa Laval Test and Training Centre in Aalborg, Denmark, is to be expanded to five times its current size. The expansion will focus on liquefied natural gas (LNG) and other alternative fuels and will address new challenges and possibilities for marine

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“This is a remarkable change, driven in part by the successive tightening of NOx and SOx regulations by IMO,” says Bodil Nielsen, manager of the test centre. “LNG is an attractive solution, because it reduces NOx by 85%90% and virtually eliminates SOx. By moving from petroleum-based fuels to LNG, vessels can cut greenhouse gas emissions by 20% overall.”

However, as Nielsen points out, “advanced technology is a prerequisite for making the switch”. Alfa Laval also notes: “The challenges involved with gas are nearly as great as the benefits. LNG poses additional environmental difficulties due to the methane and other greenhouse gases that evaporate from it, no matter how it is stored or transported. Moreover, all gas fuels are a serious explosion hazard, requiring sophisticated equipment for safe handling and treatment.”

Fuel savings by design

Global shipmanagement company Lemissoler Navigation, through its affiliated and managed company FrontMarine, says it has achieved significant fuel savings from coating its newbuild 58,500 dwt supramax bulk carriers with Hempel’s Dynamic antifouling product.

As part of an environmental efficiency drive, Lemissoler has adopted a unique hull design for the new vessels, fitted them with fuel-efficient propellers and coated the undersides with Hempel’s Dynamic antifouling.

According to the design specification, fuel consumption was calculated at 24.7 tonnes per day at 14.2 knots in ballast condition. Thanks to the ecoinnovations, the vessels are achieving a fuel consumption of just 23 tonnes in sea trials.

Innovation

customers as they attempt to meet environmental and energy targets.

The company says: “The expansion will create the world’s most advanced test centre for environmental and combustion technology – regardless of fuel type.”

Opened nearly two years ago, the Alfa Laval Test and Training Centre currently comprises a 250m2 testing space, where a 2MW diesel engine and equipment from all of Alfa Laval’s marine product groups create the closest possible simulation of a fullsized commercial vessel. Now it will be expanded with an additional 1,100m2, dedicated to environmental and combustion technology in burners and heating systems for vessels using LNG and other alternative marine fuels. The wider operations are expected to begin at the turn of the year 2016-2017.

Wireless charging and mooring concept

Wärtsilä and Cavotec are to jointly develop the world’s first combined induction charging and automatic mooring concept. Wärtsilä has developed a wireless charging system based on inductive power transfer. Cavotec provides automated mooring systems for various types of vessels, as well as shore power and reel systems. By combining the strengths and expertise of the two companies, an integrated wireless charging/mooring concept is to be developed for use in Wärtsilä’s ship designs.

Wireless charging eliminates the cable connection between the vessel and shore, thereby securing and facilitating safe connections and disconnections. It also reduces maintenance, since wear and tear to physical connection lines is eliminated. Similarly, damage to electrical outlets caused by seawater, snow and ice is also avoided.

The new project’s integrated system will be capable of transferring more than 1MW of electrical energy. This is some 300 times more than that of current chargers used by electric cars.

Cavotec’s mooring system is a vacuum-based automated mooring technology that eliminates the need for conventional mooring lines.

Remote controlled vacuum pads recessed into, or mounted on the quayside, moor and release vessels in seconds.

“During recent years, wireless charging has been introduced for cars, buses

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and trains. Wärtsilä has now also made this possible for marine vessels. This agreement with Cavotec will enable this technology to be delivered as an integrated charging and mooring system,” says Peter Rogers, director, power products, at Wärtsilä Marine Solutions.

“This is an exciting project, and we are delighted to be partnering with Wärtsilä to make shipping cleaner, safer, and easier. The envisioned integrated wireless charging and mooring system will further the marine industry’s environmental profile,” says Ottonel Popesco, chief executive of Cavotec Group.

The environmental challenge has been the starting point for Wärtsilä’s work in developing battery/hybrid technology for marine vessels. By making wireless charging of ship batteries possible, the electrification of coastal shipping is enhanced, resulting in major reductions in harmful exhaust emissions. Wärtsilä has already launched an innovative ferry concept featuring wireless induction battery charging.

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Legal Shipping awaits a key decision by the UK’s Supreme Court in an OW Bunker test case © UK Supreme Court

One payment or two?

Sandra Speares looks at recent bunker-related court cases

OW Bunker litigation set to continue

Legal action resulting from OW Bunker fallout continues, and the industry is awaiting the decision of the UK’s Supreme Court in a test case revolving around the Sale of Goods Act. At issue was the question of whether the Sale of Goods Act applied to the contract between the owners of the ship and OW Bunker. Although the court acknowledged that there were many references to sale in the contract, it ruled that the Sale of Goods Act did not apply.

The Court of Appeal found last year that: “It is a contract under which goods are to be delivered to the owners as bailees with a licence to consume them for the propulsion of the vessel, coupled with an agreement to sell any quantity remaining at the date of payment, in return for a money consideration which in commercial terms can properly be described as the price.”

According to Kieron Moore, senior director of claims for the UK Defence Club: “Under this reasoning, as the bunkers had been consumed, the member was obliged to pay for the bunkers as licensee, notwithstanding a retention of title clause in the underlying contract. As a consequence, an owner may be obliged to pay twice for the same bunkers. What the judgment fails to positively address is what occurs if some of the bunkers remain unconsumed: does the Sale of Goods Act apply in those circumstances?”

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He adds: “The Court of Appeal judgment seems to suggest that it would in certain circumstances. What if the bunkers are found to be defective after some have been consumed? What we have here is a decision which, far from providing clarity, raises more questions than answers, and we believe the industry deserves better.”

A hearing was held in the Supreme Court just before the Easter recess, with the judgment expected in the next few months.

SEKA case

International law firm Ince & Co has recently commented on other cases reaching the courts that have arisen out of the collapse of OW Bunker. At issue in the SEKA and Panagia Armata cases, heard in the Greek courts, was whether a physical supplier of bunkers with a sale contract with a trader could pursue a claim against the owner of the vessel to which the bunkers were delivered.

The supplier did not contract directly with the owner of the vessel, and the supplier’s terms and conditions were not included in bunker delivery receipts. The court at first instance found that, under Greek law, the supplier could pursue payment only against the party with which it had a contract, which in this case was OW Bunker Malta.

Ince & Co explains that: “The court rejected SEKA’s applications for security

relief against the vessels. In particular, the court found that two separate contracts were concluded: one between OW Bunker Malta and SEKA and one between OW Bunker Malta and the owners. Each of these two separate agreements was subject to different terms, including applicable law and jurisdiction. The court held that there was no contractual arrangement at all between SEKA and the owners.”

Commenting on the case, the law firm says: “The decisions were issued in the course of security measures rather than substantive proceedings and, accordingly, are not binding authority.

However, if the Piraeus court continues to adopt the position that OW had separate contracts with the physical suppliers, this will assist the owners’ case in their substantive disputes with physical suppliers arising from the OW Bunker Group collapse.”

Almi Sun

Another OW Bunker case heard recently in a US District Court involved a maritime lien claim by Valero Marketing and Supply Co against the vessel Almi Sun. In February this year, the US District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana ruled that a bunker fuel supplier did not have a maritime lien against the vessel based on the relationship between the supplier, the vessel and the intermediary contractor.

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of CIMLA to generally protect American suppliers, but stated that it could not overlook the third requirement of CIMLA, that the necessaries be provided on the order of the owner or a person authorised by the owner, simply because OW Bunker Malta is a foreign company and Valero is domestic. The court granted the shipowner’s motion for summary judgment and dismissed Valero’s claims with prejudice. The appellate period has not yet run on the court’s judgment, and it is anticipated that the fuel supplier will appeal to the Fifth Circuit.”

The law firm comments that: “The district court’s dismissal of the fuel supplier’s lien claim in Valero marks the first dismissal with prejudice by any court in the country of a physical supplier’s lien claim arising out of the OW Bunker fallout. Other courts have denied summary judgments filed by both vesselowner interests and fuel suppliers,

Magic pipes

Magic pipe cases seem set to continue after the German shipping companies Briese Schiffahrts and Briese Schiffahrts GmbH & Co KG MS Extum, which owned and operated the cargo ship BBC Magellan pleaded guilty to failure to maintain an accurate oil record book, in violation of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships, and tampering with witnesses by persuading them to provide false statements to the United States Coast Guard concerning a bypass hose on the vessel that was being used to discharge oil into the sea.

The two companies were sentenced to pay a total of $1.25 million in fines and a $250,000 community service payment to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to fund projects that enhance coastal habitats in the Gulf of Mexico and bolster priority fish and wildlife populations. In addition, the ship BBC Magellan is banned from doing business in the US for the next five years. The pleas and sentences were announced by assistant attorney general John Cruden for the Justice Department’s Environmental and Natural Resources Division and acting US attorney Christopher Canova for the Northern District of Florida.

BBC Magellan is banned from doing business in the US for five years

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but, to date, no other court has held that a physical supplier did not establish a maritime lien in the myriad of OW Bunker litigation.

“This decision may lead to similar results in the other pending cases around the country. The significance of the decision is that it prevents the shipowners from being subject to potential double payment for the bunkers to its contractual counterparty and the physical supplier (like Valero).

Additionally, it likely relegates physical suppliers to pursue claims in the OW Bunker bankruptcy litigation instead of circumventing bankruptcy to directly pursue shipowners.”

The judgment could be good news for bunker buyers facing potential double payments. It remains to be seen what the outcome of the Supreme Court will be, as previous judgments seem to open the door to such payments.

Legal

The vessel owner filed a motion seeking dismissal of Valero’s claim, based on the argument that Valero did not have a maritime lien against the vessel.

In finding that Valero did not have a maritime lien against the Almi Sun, the court held that Valero did not provide necessaries on the order of the owner or a person authorised by the owner, because the owner did not specifically direct OW Bunker to hire Valero, as is required for a maritime lien to attach in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Lastly, the court rejected Valero’s argument that OW Bunker Malta could not have a maritime lien because it is a foreign company and the Commercial Instruments and Maritime Liens Act (CIMLA) was enacted to protect American suppliers. According to law firm Jones Walker: “The court agreed with Valero’s assessment of the purpose

In March 2015, during an inspection at the Port of Pensacola, the United States Coast Guard discovered an improperly attached rubber hose. Officials later determined that, between January and March 2015, the crew of BBC Magellan, acting on behalf of the vessel’s owner, had installed and illegally used the rubber hose to remove oily wastes from the vessel’s holding tanks and discharged them directly into the ocean. The crew also failed to make the required entries in the vessel’s oil record book. When questioned about the hose’s purpose and how oily wastes were discharged from the ship, the chief engineer instructed other crew members to lie to the Coast Guard.

“Shipping companies that transport commerce across open seas must respect the international laws and obligations of their trade, which exist to prevent the spoiling of oceans and marine habitat,” said assistant attorney general Cruden.

“This egregious behaviour by shipping companies, which included intentional deception and witness tampering, will not be tolerated. We will continue to prosecute companies and their officers for these crimes.”

Meanwhile, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit vacated the conviction of a vessel’s chief engineer for failing to maintain an oil record book (ORB). The defendant had improperly discharged oily waste water overboard while the ship was in international waters and had concealed that discharge in the ORB, which was then signed by the master. Close examination of the applicable federal regulation revealed that only the master or ‘other person having charge of a ship’ is required to keep and maintain the ORB. As the defendant was neither, he could not be convicted of the offence, Dennis Bryant of Bryant’s Maritime Consulting explains in his online newsletter. He notes that “this decision will undoubtedly move the Coast Guard to re-examine and revise the regulation”.

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Equipment & Services

ABB launches Dynamic AC concept New electric power system can reduce annual fuel consumption by 6%

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ower and automation technology group ABB has launched a new Dynamic AC (DAC) concept that optimises engine speed, leading to significant fuel savings. The company says it complements a number of other established ABB products, such as Azipod propulsion and the Onboard DC Grid, which maximise energy efficiency for vesselowners.

ABB says that a large cruiseship could save up to 6% on annual fuel costs (or up to 2,000 tonnes of fuel) by optimising engine speed. It adds that the concept has been created with a simple configuration of electrical systems using existing and proven ABB components, “which ensures quality and reliability”.

The concept is new to the commercial maritime industry.

“No matter what bunker costs are now, shipowners look to the long term and always want ways to maximise fuel efficiency,” says the managing director of ABB’s marine and ports business, Juha Koskela. “Once again, our strong emphasis on research and development has produced a solution of great business value to our customers.”

DAC adjusts the rotational speed of the diesel generating sets, allowing the system frequency to vary within the specified range. Currently, many ships still run with their generators at a set speed, regardless of the power

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requirement, creating a surplus of wasted energy. The medium voltage power system in the ship is specially engineered for variable frequency, including component design and system integration. Distribution for the auxiliary and hotel loads is provided by frequency converters or directly from the variable frequency system.

“ABB has had great success providing power and propulsion solutions to the cruise industry. Dynamic AC is another tool for cruise companies to build fleets that are more efficient and more environmentally friendly,” says Koskela.

It will sit alongside the Onboard DC Grid in ABB’s portfolio of power distribution products that can significantly increase ship fuel efficiency.

While the Onboard DC Grid can improve the performance of vessels with a lower power requirement, DAC is aimed at larger ships with power of 20MW or more.

KPI Bridge Oil “refreshes” brand

Global trader and broker KPI Bridge Oil has refreshed its brand to deliver the company’s new tagline ‘responsive maritime partners’ and introduces a full library of icons conceptualised and designed especially for the KPI Bridge Oil group brand.

The refresh campaign, which began to take shape in 2015 following the appointment of marketing manager

Ashleigh Cleave-Wallace is intended to better communicate the attributes of the already well established brand and the company’s core values.

Heading KPI Bridge Oil’s new direction is the group’s chief executive, Carsten Ladekjaer, who comments: “Among other core messages, our new brand strategy communicates our flexible attitude, ability to adapt to today’s challenges and our priority to maintain strong relationships and trust. KPI Bridge Oil has stood the test of time, weathered the storms of the bunker industry. It is these key attributes that have helped us to remain a market leader, so we felt it important to communicate these.”

NOx reduction guide

Specialist market intelligence provider Fathom Maritime Intelligence has launched a brand-new industry guide, “The Ship Operator’s Guide To NOx Reduction”.

The development of this guide follows the regulatory reduction of nitrogen oxides (NOx) emission levels in NOx emission control areas from 1 January 2016. The company says its creation was also spurred by an extensive survey of shipowners and operators conducted

by Fathom Maritime Intelligence (www. fathommaritimeintelligence.com).

The responses to this highlighted the existence of a perceived “information

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Detecting catalytic fines

Global asset control and protection technology supplier Parker Kittiwake says it has received a significant order of its recently launched Cat Fines Test Kit from ship management company Norbulk Shipping. The contract was awarded to Parker Kittiwake following a competitive evaluation of the available market options meeting Norbulk’s requirement for a simple solution that any of its crewmembers could use to get an accurate and repeatable result, quickly, to prevent damage to fuel pumps, injectors, piston rings and liners.

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Norbulk has awarded Parker Kittiwake a contract for its Cat Fines Test Kit

The company says the test kit represents a breakthrough in the early detection of cat fines. Using a simple, pre-mixed chemical bottle test, which detects the presence of cat fines in a representative sample of fuel oil, operators are able to identify the presence of abrasive and potentially damaging components in the fuel oil before it enters the system.

Norbulk shipping director and general manager Walter Woodage comments: “Proactive condition monitoring is an integral part of maximising our operational efficiency.

With changes in fuel quality, catalytic fines have become a real problem in recent times, which is why the advent of onboard testing is so welcome. Having evaluated the available tools, we have identified the Parker Kittiwake Cat Fines Test Kit as the most simple and reliable way for our engineers to quickly identify potentially damaging cat fines in fuel oil. They can now take timely action to minimise the likelihood of damage, avoiding the associated costs and challenges if damage occurs.”

Cat fines are small enough to pass through the majority of filtration systems and into the cylinder liner, where they become embedded in the liner walls, causing extensive damage.

The replacement of one liner can cost up to $65,000 for parts alone, and can run into hundreds of thousands for a single vessel with multiple cylinders, including materials, labour and the associated costs of downtime and repair.

Launched in October 2015, the Parker Kittiwake Cat Fines Test Kit

can be used in conjunction with both laboratory testing and a range of other onboard condition monitoring tools, ensuring that operators have reliable and accurate data readily to safeguard critical machinery against damage.

Larry Rumbol, condition monitoring market development manager at Parker Kittiwake, explained: “As environmental regulation becomes more widespread, the quality of fuel supplied to a vessel is increasingly difficult to predict. As more distillates are being taken from the oil, this requires more refining, and, as a result, more catalyst is being carried over. Until now, the detection of cat fines in fuel oil was only possible by obtaining a fuel sample, which was then sent for laboratory analysis. However this takes time, and if cat fines are not reduced by suitable treatment, their abrasive nature will damage the engine – particularly fuel pumps, injectors, piston rings and liners – leading to costly repairs and unplanned downtime.”

He continued: “Insurers are increasingly insistent on enforcing compliance with the guidance they issue on maintenance practices, which is becoming more and more reliant on the data provided by the shipowner. By having a continuous stream of data to refer to through simple tools such as the Cat Fines Test Kit, shipowners can not only identify the early warning signs of potentially catastrophic damage but will also have the evidence they require to demonstrate to their insurer that they have taken every step to mitigate the issue, thereby safeguarding their financial claim.”

Equipment & Services

void” for comprehensive resources that detail all NOx reduction and abatement options, with practical considerations for Tier II and Tier III NOx emission compliance. “The Ship Operator’s Guide To NOx Reduction” aims to set out the requirements of the complex regulations governing NOx emissions and to provide a clear roadmap to selecting the most suitable technologies or fuels to ensure regulatory compliance by hosting both technical information and practical considerations alongside financial data and market uptake statistics.”

Furthermore, the guide includes the industry’s only independent review of all selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technologies available to the market.

According to Fathom, future-proofing any newbuild ships that are to set sail within designated NOx emission control areas from January 2016 for Tier III compliance is essential and this guide supports that process.

It adds: “Equally, the future-proofing of any vessels for Tier II compliance with existing and upcoming technological solutions for reduction, abatement or alternative fuel use is vital. The range of viable options to meet Tier II requirements has continued to grow since the implementation of reduced NOx emission levels through MARPOL Annex VI, Regulation 13 from 1 January 2011 for ships built on or after that date.

Those operators needing to adhere to regional NOx regulations – such as the Norwegian NOx Fund, or those wanting to take advantage of green initiatives, such as the Green Award – would also benefit from being equipped with this all-encompassing guide.”

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Company news

Gazprom Neft Marine Bunker Company celebrates steady growth and increased market share

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azprom Neft Marine Bunker continued to lead the Russia’s bunkering market in 2015. The company’s share of the market reached 21% at the end of the year, increasing from 18.6% in 2014. Total sales of Gazprom Neft Marine Bunker’s bunker fuels amounted to 3.7 million tonnes in 2015, with direct-to-vessel sales as high as 3.1 million tonnes.

The results have been achieved by maintaining the company’s strategic priorities, such as strengthening collaboration with present customers, as well as establishing new agreements, developing the quality of service and the fuels provided.

“Optimisation of fuel delivery logistics, development of terminal facilities and provision of high-standard services are the basics of our business,” says Gazprom Neft Marine Bunker’s chief executive, Andrei Vasiliev.

“Our strategic initiatives for 2016 will also include further development of the LNG bunkering vessel project, promotion of our company with the ultra-low-sulphur marine fuels market, as well as supplying the vessels transporting oil from Gazprom Neft’s Arctic oilfields,” he adds.

Gazprom Neft Marine Bunker performs bunkering operations in 37 key sea and river ports, covering the Baltic region, the Russian far east, the Black Sea, the inland waterways of Russia and the waters off Russia’s northern coast. It also caters for international markets, owing to its presence in the ports of Tallinn (Estonia), Riga (Latvia) and Constanta (Romania).

Its bunkering fleet now consists of nine powerful vessels, all complying with international conventions. The fleet is licensed to transport oil products by sea and to perform loading and unloading operations for hazardous goods in sea ports, with an unrestricted operating area.

The purchase of a new bunkering vessel, Gazprom Neft Omsk, which began operations in Novorossiysk Port in April 2015, further strengthened the company’s stance in the Black Sea region.

Ongoing development of the Novorosnefteservice terminal complex, plus efforts to provide optimal logistics, culminated in an impressive operational result for Gazprom Neft Marine Bunker’s activities in the region.

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amounted to nearly 800,000 tonnes, up 22% from 2014.

Novorosnefteservice itself set a historical operational record in 2015, with total transshipment of 580,000 tonnes of marine fuels.

“Shipping is developing steadily in the Black Sea region, and that stimulates the growth of demand for bunkering services,” comments Vasiliev. “Further development of our facilities in the region would allow us to utilise the potential of the market and to strengthen the company’s position there.”

Gazprom Neft Marine Bunker provides bunkering services to over 200 customers, most of them being major international

shipping companies. The company also works with all the major Russian river and sea shipping operators.

Since February 2008, the company has been a member of the Russian Association of Marine and River Bunker Suppliers and of the International Bunker Industry Association (IBIA).

In November 2015, Gazprom Neft Marine Bunker received new certification confirming official compliance of the company’s quality management systems with the requirements of the international standard ISO9001:2008. The certificate covers the sale of oil products on the bunker market. ⏏

Gazprom Neft Marine Bunker Ltd Bolshoy Prospekt, 80 block R, Vasilievsky Ostrov, St Petersburg, 199106 Russia Tel: +7 (0)812 4494970 Fax: +7 (0)812 4494628 E-mail: marinebunker@ spb.gazprom-neft.ru bunkers@spb.gazprom-neft.ru Website: www.marinebunker. gazprom-neft.ru

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Company news

Port of Algeciras Bay A model for sustainable growth is allowing the port to keep up with record-breaking demand

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he Port of Algeciras Bay is located at an exceptional geo-strategic point. It lies at the crossroads of the world’s main cargo shipping lanes, in the Strait of Gibraltar in the western Mediterranean, one of the largest distribution centres in the region.

Our traffic evolution over the past few years has allowed us to become one of the main Mediterranean ports, in terms of both total throughput and container handling.

In 2015, the Port of Algeciras Bay broke historical records with a total throughput of 98.2 million tonnes and 4.52 million teu.

In order to be able to keep up with the current growth in traffic and regular calls by containerships of over 18,000 teu, the Port of Algeciras Bay Authority continues to

enhance the port infrastructure, following a strict model for sustainable growth. This new infrastructure includes a new port rail terminal, able to handle 700m-long trains.

Currently, the Port of Algeciras has two container terminals: APMT Algeciras and the semi-automated TTI Algeciras terminal.

There are also two oil terminals at Algeciras: Vopak Terminal Algeciras – a 6ha storage terminal with a total capacity of 403,000m3; and the CLH terminal, with a total capacity of 200,000m3.

These two terminals, along with the Cepsa Refinery, complete the oil storage offer at Algeciras Bay Port. There are currently five operators serving bunkers in port waters by means of 10 double-hull bunker barges.

Ship supplies form the most notable traffic type at the Port of Algeciras Bay. In 2015, more than 3.34 million tonnes of goods were supplied – 3.17 million of which were petroleum products.

This service makes up part of a global range of services: fuel supply to vessels at berth and at anchor; ship repairs afloat or at dry dock; waste oil collection and treatment; lubricant supply, etc. Bunker calls on Anchorage D also qualify for an exemption on port fees.

Ro-ro cargo is another pillar of strength for the Port of Algeciras Bay. The proximity of Africa has given the bay a leading role, enabling it to serve as a ‘sea-bridge’ between Africa and Europe. In 2015 alone, 290,774 trucks and 5.5 million passengers made the crossing.

2015 MAIN TRAFFIC FIGURES:

TOTAL THROUGHPUT (tonnes): 98,224,212 TEUS: 4,515,768 BUNKER SUPPLY (tonnes): 3,176,133

For more information, please visit the Port of Algeciras website: www.apba.es For more information about the Port of Algeciras Bay private operators, please see our Business Directory: www.apba.es/en/company-directory

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Over the past three decades, leading oil products supplier Tranship has built up a strong reputation as a reliable operator

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stablished in 1979, Saudi Shipping & Maritime Service – generally known as Tranship – is a leading oil products (bunker) supplier and trading company.

Based in Jeddah, Tranship has successfully chartered out its future strategic direction and has established a reputation as a reliable supplier, with services rendered promptly at all times.

Professional service

The company’s dedicated team of managers is ably supported by highly qualified and experienced staff, who are extremely motivated and devoted to working innovatively in the best interests of our customers.

We have been licensed since we became established to operate as bunker suppliers at Jeddah, maintaining an excellent reputation among buyers, brokers and shipowners all over the world. So far, we

have successfully distributed more than eight million tons of bunker fuel to clients’ ships over the past three decades.

We currently have two oil tankers: MT Marwah-7 (4,999 tons DWT) built in 1991; and MT Marwah-6 (2,261 tons DWT) built in 1992. Both oil tankers are classed under the Japanese Classification Society (NKK).

The tankers are equipped with the latest accurate electronic controlled dynamic blenders on board for blending all grades of CST to meet the exacting requirements of our valued customers. ⏏

For more information, contact: Saudi Shipping & Maritime Services (Tranship) 3rd Floor, Al Jawhara Building Madina Road, Baghdadiya Area, P.O. Box 7522, Jeddah 21472 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Tel : + 966 2 642 4255 (4 lines) Fax: +966 2 643 2821 E-mail: bunker@tranship.com www.ssmsc.com

Company news

Saudi Shipping & Maritime Service (Tranship)

Qeshm Marine Services and Engineering company ( QMSENG CO ) Qeshm Marine Services and Engineering company ( QMSENG CO ) Established to provide Bunkering services to all fleets of Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines ( IRISL ), the largest fleet in Middle East,in Iranian ports and all ports overseas by swapping in coordination with other major Bunkering companies abroad, as well as all foreign-owned vessels called to Iranian ports since 1985.

QMSENG CO is based upon the dedication and experience of its highly professional and expert team to provide highest quality of fuel & services to its customers.

QMSENG CO established a HFO

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& MGO storage tank farm in Bandar Abbas port area with total capacity of 53 K Mt which is directly connected to Bandar Abbas refinery complex to be able to be fed with highest quality of Iranian HFO which is further connected to an individual berth in Khalij Fars Berth, in order to facilitate its bunker vessels to be loaded for bunkering in Bandar Abbas port, Bandar Abbas OPL and bunkering in Iranian territorial waters.

QMSENG CO operates Oil tankers, bunker vessels and barges ( Fuel and Fresh Water ) in various type and size, capacitated from 300 M/T to 150000 MT.

No.63 Shian Area, Shahid tajarlou Sqr, East tajarlou St, P.O Code: 1678679461 Tehran, Iran Tel: +98 21 22987182 +98 21 22987184 Fax: +98 21 22987186 Web:WWW.QMSENGCO.COM

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Review: International Bunker Convention

IBC 37: Big questions, any answers?

The longest running bunker conference on the scene delivered a winning formula once again, stimulating good debate combined with excellent networking events, as Unni Einemo report

C

an we have green growth in shipping when reducing sulphur emissions and CO2 are currently on a collision course? What are our options when we get the global 0.50% sulphur cap, and what will be most cost effective? These were some of the big questions at the 37th International Bunker Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark at the end of April as academics and industry experts presented their thinking.

Growth without having a negative environmental impact is not just desirable but absolutely necessary to solve the climate problem, Per Espen Stoknes, Director, Centre for Green Growth at BI Norwegian Business School told IBC 37. In practice, it means every business must reduce its CO2 output by a few percentage points every year up to 2050. Stoknes said there is huge potential to do so by identifying and addressing huge inefficiencies in today’s system, where more than 99% of all the resources going into production end up as waste.

Funny he should say that, as shipping is so adept at handling one of these waste streams, using residual fuel oil from refineries to transport raw materials and goods. But as shipping faces pressure to become both cleaner and leaner, how long for?

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Shipping “dodged a bullet” by not being included in the Paris Agreement, but may have stepped in front of a bullet train instead, according to Professor James Corbett from the University of Delaware. Shipping would rank 6th among the top emitters if it was a country, and if shipping continues to grow CO2 emissions, individual countries would have to cut CO2 even more to stay on track. That may force the hand of the IMO to do something about shipping, Corbett observed.

Unfortunately, regulations already in place to reduce emissions from shipping are going to cause an increase in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, partly because using lower sulphur fuels comes at a CO2 cost if refineries have to convert more residuals to distillates.

The scrubbing alternative also has a CO2 penalty. Moreover, SOx emissions from ships have a net cooling effect that will be lost when the global sulphur cap kicks in, Dr Haakon Elizabeth Lindstad of MARINTEK told IBC 37. Lindstad’s solution would be to have a change in policy; address pollution that impacts air quality such as SOx and NOx where it is a problem, near shore and in port, and continue to use HFO on the high seas.

Even if the science supports such an argument, however, it would extremely difficult to get the IMO to change MARPOL Annex VI now.

Lindstad was not convinced about the benefits of LNG, neither from a GHG perspective due to the methane slip, nor from an economic perspective.

Once the global cap takes effect, the most cost effective option is scrubbers for 2/3 of all ships, while LNG is only cost effective if you transport gas, Lindstad said. Corbett was more positive, if only the methane slip issue can be addressed, but said the big issue is supply infrastructure.

If the global cap takes effect in 2020, the demand on refineries for distillate fuels will equate to 9 years of average annual demand growth overnight, and 6 years if it takes effect in 2025, industry consultant Robin Meech told IBC 37. That has the potential to make HFO very cheap, and cause power stations to start using it again instead of natural gas. Other options are for refineries to use it as feedstock, and ships to use scrubbers.

Tim Wilson from Lloyd’s Register predicted that technology developments will provide answers to the big questions raised at IBC 37, as it has in the past. Time will tell. IBC 37 also appealed to the senses with an evening dinner at the Opera with a beautiful dance performance and a singer entertaining delegates, keeping up its tradition for combining a strong programme with classy social events.

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Posidonia powers on Greece’s premier maritime show defies the gloomy headlines

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osidonia’s international shipping exhibition, which takes place from 6-10 June, is on course to be the biggest ever, despite unfavourable market conditions, the organisers say.

With demand for floorspace at unprecedented levels, the prestigious shipping trade event is expected to break the previous record, set during Posidonia 2014, which was attended by more than 1,840 exhibitors and 19,000 visitors.

More than 80 global information and communications technology (ICT) companies will participate. They will be vying for the attention of the Greek shipping industry, which runs the world’s largest merchant fleet, comprising more than 4,500 vessels, with an estimated value of US$92 billion.

“Despite a negative global shipping sector outlook for 2016, Posidonia constantly enhances its appeal as the must-attend international shipping event, owing to its unique legacy and long heritage as an event that creates new business opportunities in tough markets,” says Theodore Vokos, executive director, Posidonia Exhibitions.

“The Greek shipping community is famous for its business acumen and excellent sense of timing when it comes to investing in difficult times, and we are currently seeing many shipowners investing in both newbuildings and the sale and purchase (S&P) market.”

Increased demand is driven by major shipbuilding nations and other traditional Posidonia participants from all over the world. Many of these have

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already confirmed their presence at June’s event, alongside numerous firsttime exhibitors representing some newto-Posidonia sectors.

Leading the way in terms of demand for floorspace is China. Once again, with its shipyards, equipment manufacturers, shipping services and financial centre providers, the country will be able to lay claim to the highest participation levels at the biennial event. The thriving Chinese participation at Posidonia, together with the recently announced acquisition of Piraeus Port by Chinese shipping group COSCO, underline the strong friendship and maritime business relationship between the two nations.

The organisers say that, as the Greek shipping sector operates a very young fleet, with an average age of 11 years – some two years less than the world average – it is likely that a great percentage of the US$8.6 billion invested

by Greek interests in newbuildings will be spent on new technology.

Satellite communications, cargo tracking, navigation and crew management are some of the key areas where ICT innovations can help improve the global shipping industry.

Another is energy efficiency, which is mandated by the International Maritime Organization, headed by secretarygeneral Kitack Lim, who will attend the opening ceremony.

Cutting the carbon footprint generated by the seaborne transportation of over 10 billion tonnes of cargo a year by 50% may be a tall order for the ICT sector to deliver singlehandedly.

However, recent advancements in software technology can contribute to fuel efficiencies, thus driving carbon levels down. “Even a small percentage drop in fuel consumption can amount to hefty savings for the Greek-owned fleet, which ranks first globally with almost 20% of the world’s total transport capacity,” says Vokos.

“Information and communication technology is of prime importance for all shipping companies, onboard and ashore, owing to the availability of more data that can and will be collected, analysed, cheaply stored and integrated into decision-making mechanisms at various levels,” he adds.

From communications to procurement, safety to vessel reporting, financial accounting to navigation, ICT providers for every aspect of shipping operations will be exhibiting at this year’s Posidonia to showcase their ability to create a more connected, integrated and efficient shipping industry. They come from all four corners of the world, from India to Scandinavia and from Australia to North America, to compete with each other and against a strong contingent of Greece-based suppliers for a slice of shipping groups’ increasing ICT budgets.

As well as the opportunity to showcase maritime products and services, Posidonia is renowned for its networking and socialising. In addition to many receptions, the programme includes a prestigious opening ceremony, the Posidonia Cup Yacht Race, a running event, golf tournament and shipsoccer tournament.

Posidonia preview

Posidonia looks set for record numbers this year

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Next issue

WORLD BUNKERING AUTUMN 2016 ISSUE IBIA Update Find out what is happening in the Bunker Industry's global representative organisation. We include introductions from IBIA Chairman Robin Meech and CEO Peter Hall as well an update on events from Steve Hoare. Tahra Sergeant and Simon Neo report on development in, respectively, Africa and Asia.

SPECIAL FEATURES: Independents Our annual survey of the Independents scene. How are they are coping with the low oil price and the continuing fall-out from the OW Bunker collapse. What room is there for the small independent in today's market?

Fuel Quality Fuel quality is a perennial topic that is very much still us as straight run HFO become a rarity as oil companies bend products to comply with global sulphur limits. And it is still a very contentious area, as current discussions on ISO 8217 testify.

GEOGRAPHICAL FOCUS: Middle East Iran is back in the market. What difference will that make? Fujairah remains the dominant player in the region but will other ports increase their slice of the cake? And how will the Middle East producers cope with the global 0.5% sulphur cap? We take a look.

Far East This massive area stretches from Russia to Indonesia and is a vital part of the global bunkering scene, including as it does the No.1 bunkering port of Singapore. While environmental regulation has come to Europe and North America, as we report, first things are changing fast in Asia too.

SUMMER 2016

Regular Features

SUMMER

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Diary

23-27 May 2016

MARITIME WEEK AMERICAS 2016 – FORT LAUDERDALE Returning to North America, Maritime Week Americas comprises a full week of key maritime events, including the MWA Conference – the largest and most popular bunkering conference in the Americas.

Top-level training, including the IBIA Basic Bunker Course, An Introduction to Shipping and An Introduction to Bunker Disputes is on offer, as is an exhibition and some exciting pool-side social events overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. MWA 2016 also includes a guided tour of Port Everglades, one of the biggest and most important cruise, petroleum and container ports in the Americas.

www.petrospot.com/events

22-23 September 2016

ARACON 2016 – ROTTERDAM

ARACON is the longest-running and biggest bunkering conference in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp region. Its no-nonsense conference programmes attracts all the main bunker suppliers and barging companies in the ARA and Northwest Europe as well as shipowners and managers from throughout the region.

www.petrospot.com/events

4-7 October 2016

19TH SIBCON 2016 – RESORTS WORLD SENTOSA, SINGAPORE The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore is pleased to announce that the 19th Singapore International Bunkering Conference and Exhibition (SIBCON) will be held from 4 October to 7 October 2016, Resorts World Sentosa, Singapore.

24-25 May 2016

PLATTS 7TH EUROPEAN BUNKER FUEL CONFERENCE – ROTTERDAM Supported by the Port of Rotterdam, Platts European Bunker Fuel Conference will bring together the leading bunker fuel suppliers, traders, brokers, refiners, ship operators, owners, and other marine fuel industry organizations to provide a unique and comprehensive overview of the European bunker fuel market.

www.platts.com

A refreshed and invigorated programme will include new formats, cutting edge presentations, innovative exhibition hall features and as always, opportunities to do business.

www.sibconsingapore.com

8-11 November 2016

IBIA 2016 CONVENTION, GIBRALTAR The association’s international annual gathering will be held in conjunction with HM Government of Gibraltar and the Gibraltar Port Authority, following the successful IBIA Regional Forum held there in February this year.

IBIA Chief Executive Peter Hall said: “Gibraltar, Algeciras, Tanger Med and Ceuta together handle the vast majority of the bunkering in the Mediterranean –making it an excellent location for our biggest annual event. Our decision to hold the annual convention in Gibraltar follows our successful event there earlier this year, and with the support and partnership of the Gibraltar Port Authority and HM Government of Gibraltar, we believe that this will be our most successful and productive convention yet.”

www.ibia.net/ibia-2016-convention-gibraltar

20 February 2016

IBIA ANNUAL DINNER 2016 – LONDON, UK

6-10 June 2016

POSIDONIA – ATHENS, GREECE. Engage with technical and operations executives responsible for the industry’s most demanding fleet expansion programme, now widening into new sectors and creating a multi-billion dollar opportunity for suppliers of ships’ equipment and services.

2016 will see the event go “Back to the future” with a return to the Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane, London. Peter Hall, CEO of IBIA said ” It is great to be taking our dinner back to the Grosvenor House Hotel, it is like taking the event home!

Although we are going back to the Grovesnor House we will not stop the progression of this great event. It really will be like going Back to the future!.

www.ibia.net

www.posidonia-events.com

27 June - 01 July

MARITIME WEEK AFRICA – ACCRA, GHANA The week comprises the two-day Oil & Shipping Africa Conference, which focuses on African oil, shipping and bunker markets and the three-day Oxford Bunker Course (Advanced). Both are designed to bring together suppliers and buyers from some of the most dynamic and active markets in Africa.

www.petrospot.com/events

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27-29 March 2017

FUJAIRAH BUNKERING & FUEL OIL FORUM The 9th International FUJCON 2015 organized by The Conference Connection Inc, under the auspices of the Government of Fujairah with the Patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi, Member of the UAE Supreme Council & Ruler of Fujairah, was successfully held in Fujairah, UAE from 23 to 25 March 2015.

http://www.fujcon.com

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INTERNATIONAL BUNKER INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION

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IBIA Annual Convention 2016 Gibraltar | 7-11 November 2016 Ready for 2020? | Bunker hubs | LNG bunkering Environmental compliance New fuels | IBIA Bunker Surgery www.ibia.net/ibia-convention-2016 Managed by

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Contact Petrospot Tel: +44 1295 814455 | Email: events@petrospot.com

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