Bunker News

The International Bunker Industry Association (IBIA) has appointed Alexander Prokopakis as its new Executive Director.Joining the IBIA team on September 1 with Edmund Hughes, the recently appointed IBIA IMO Representative, Prokopakis will be instrumental in navigating the association through the evolving challenges and opportunities in the marine fuel industry.Well-regarded within the IBIA community, he brings a strong background of active association membership. His recent leadership…

TotalEnergies and CMA CGM launched Marseilles’ inaugural ship-to-containership Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) bunkering operation in the Port of Marseille Fos, Southern France.CMA CGM BALI, a 15,000 TEU LNG-powered containership is deployed on the MEX 1service, connecting Asia and South Europe. The ship was refuelled by TotalEnergies’ Gas Vitality, the first LNG bunker vessel based in France, with around 6,000 cu. m. of LNG, by means of a ship-to-ship transfer alongside the Eurofos container terminal, while the containership carried out cargo operations simultaneously.

ExxonMobil has started barge deliveries of two grades of IMO-compliant, low-sulfur marine fuel, namely, DMA 0.001%S [Ultra Low Sulfur Marine Diesel] and DMB 0.01%S [Low Sulfur Marine Diesel] at the Port of Tauranga, New Zealand, enhancing its offer in the Asia Pacific region.The arrival of MT Kormako, the first and only bunker barge in Port of Tauranga, enhances ExxonMobil’s bunkering operation at the Port of Tauranga as fuel deliveries are now available for vessels berthed at Sulfur Point along with land-based refuelling for those moored at the port.

The largest port in Europe, the Port of Rotterdam has introduced new app for bunkering notifications with which paperless bunkering and informing the Harbour Master and Customs possible in one go.TimeToBunker App is bunker barge operator tool for electronic bunkering notification. Maud Eijgendaal and Marc de Vries of the Port of Rotterdam Authority developed the new innovative application.Bunker specialists in the port of Rotterdam are obliged to notify the Port Authority and Customs prior to commencing each bunkering operation. These are practically the same notifications that currently still need to be made separately. This could be done smarter.Maud Eijgendaal…

Shipowners, who are facing one of the biggest changes in the oil industry in decades, are seeing more fuels that will be compliant with new rules on sulphur emissions from ships, but some say the way forward is far from clear.The United Nations shipping agency the International Maritime Organization (IMO) will from January 2020 limit the sulphur content in fuel ships use to 0.5%.With the exception of some zones around northwest Europe and North America known as Emission Control Areas where maximum sulphur content is restricted to 0.1% sulphur, the current global cap is 3.5%.The sulphur switch will be a mammoth task as it requires adapting the 300 million tonne a year bunker fuel market…