IBIA convention opens with focus on 2015
Over 150 delegates have gathered at the Jumeirah Towers Hotel Dubai where the International Bunker Industry Association (IBIA) is holding it annual convention, World Bunkering reports.
This year's event marks the association's 20th anniversary and IBIA chairman Nigel Draffin listed the many achievements of the past two decades.
However he said that the emphasis must now be on managing future and being prepared for the many challenges facing the industry. He said any player that does not do that cannot expect to stay in the bunker busines
Mr Draffin welcomed IBIA's new Chief Executive Cliff Brand who took up his post last week. Mr Brand told delegates that he intended meeting as many members as possible during the convention and listening to their views.
The them of managing the upcoming challenges was reflected by the keynote session Spotlight on 2015 and the further sulphur emission reduction to 0.1% in Emissions Control Areas (ECAs)
OW Bunkers' global sales manager Asia, Morten Kalle and Oldendorff Carriers' director Jens Jorgensen answered the question: "The lights are on green but everyone is stalling. Shipowners v Bunker retailers. Who will be the first to start?"
Mr Kalle stressed the need for co-operation between suppliers and ship operators. He cautioned against "false hope" that the 2020 global 0.1% limit could be put off and said there was now some certai8nty about what would be imposed following the European Parliament's recent decision on the issue.
According to Mr Kalle using distillates was "the most credible option" once the 0.1% sulphur limit came in to force in 2015. He thought neither scrubbers nor LNG would be able to provide a significant option in time.
Mr Kalle emphasised how increasing fuel costs was changing the nature of the business with suppliers having to provide credit for very large transaction. They were, he said, acting rather like banks. This meant the relationship between suppliers and owners was having change and become transparent. Suppliers had to know more about how suppliers businesses were, like a bank manager had to.
Mr Jorgensen spoke from the point of view of a bulk carrier owner. Possible surprisingly he said there was no crisis in the supply of cargo but there was problem of overtonnaging. He pointed out that fright rates were back at their long-term normal levels before the boom in the mid-2000s, until the economic crisis in 2008.
According to Mr Jorgensen, owners had four options. One was "just pay" for distillate fuel. A second was to move to much efficient vessels. Here he made the significant assertion that ordering vessels for delivery in a couple of years time made economic sense because the vessels being designed now and for delivery from about 2014 would much more fuel efficient than even current newbuildings, which were already much more efficient than existing tonnage.
Mr Jorgensen also though LNG would not be significant in the short but promising in the long term. He was more optimistic about scrubbers and thought they could be the best option in the short term.