VPS Highlights Shipowner Concerns Over Fuel Changes

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Monday April 27, 2015

Speaking last week at the Sea Asia Global Forum, Rahul Choudhuri, Veritas Petroleum Services (VPS)'s managing director for Asia, Middle East & Africa highlighted what he says are three key forces within the industry leading to shipowner's concerns over marine fuel.

The first force, explained Choudhuri, is the move to distillate fuels in certain parts of the world, which is causing fuel mixes to change dramatically.

"The fact we have a major shift to distillate fuels this year, one would have thought, 'Here comes a fantastic new fuel', but the world is not as simple as that, and some of the issues we see have significant issues on safety," he said.

The second force was named as the push for fair implementation of regulation.

"Why are the majority of shipowners using a standard that is 15 years old, while a handful of shipowners are using the new standard ISO8217:2010?" questioned Choudhuri.

The third force, according to Choudhuri, is the development of hybrid fuels for use in place of distillates.

"I'm seeing this in a major way in the fuel management of ships, as part of the bigger picture," he said.

VPS announced April 8, 2015 it would have a new Chief Executive Officer, Gerard Rohaan, effective May 1, 2015.

Ship & Bunker News Team
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