Americas News
Event Roundup: IBIA Caribbean Bunker Conference 2019
Following in the footsteps of the inaugural IBIA Caribbean Bunker Conference last year, the 2019 IBIA Caribbean Bunker Conference (ICBC) – The Caribbean Journey to 2020 Compliance - was once again a highly successful regional event that lived up to the expectation of being one of industry's landmark events of 2019.
The conference took place from September 10-12, 2019 at the Iberostar Grande / Suites Hotel, Montego Bay, Jamaica, and was hosted by Maritime Authority of Jamaica and presented in partnership with Ship & Bunker.
The pre-conference day featured the IBIA Bunker Training Course that, as it was last year, very well attended and proved once again to be one of the most popular dates on IBIA's annual training calendar. The IBIA Ethics Workshop was also held on the pre-conference day, which was moderated by J. Steve Simms, Principal, Simms Showers LLP and Robert E. O'Connor, Managing Partner, Montgomery McCracken. That evening, delegates were treated to a lively welcome networking reception courtesy of Gold Sponsor Bunker One.
The conference opened with words from Rear Admiral (Ret'd) Peter Brady, Director General of the Maritime Authority of Jamaica . This was followed by the Key Note Address from Hon. Robert Montague, Minister of Transport, Jamaica, where delegates heard of Jamaica's ongoing drive to establish itself as the bunkering hub for the Caribbean region. Bunkering could bring over $3 billion in income, and 900 jobs to the country, delegates were told. The minister also discussed various steps the country was taking to achieve its ambitions, including plans to implement a bunkering framework with legislation that will provide for the licensing of bunkering operators and their vessels.
Session 1 tackled the matter of IMO2020 from the perspective of each of the stakeholder groups. Unni Einemo, IBIA Director & IMO Representative, gave an overview of the new rules before Eric Evans, Vice President, ICON International, Inc., discussed the impact on Shipowners / Operators, Adrian Tolson, Senior Partner, 20|20 Marine Energy, tackled the impact on the bunker supply chain, and Mel Larson, Principal Consultant, KBC, discussed the impact for refiners. Among the session's notable points were that shipowners today are benefiting from an increased level of transparency in the industry, there will be a rise in relevance for smaller bunkering ports, the traditional model of the independent bunker suppler could be dead, and the new sulfur rules are generally viewed as a positive for US Gulf Coast refiners.
Session 2 looked at the new IMO2020 grade fuels in detail. Nigel Draffin, Author and Board Member, IBIA, discussed the composition of the new fuels, how will we make them, and why they are different to what we burn today. Among the technical specifics of the presentation, delegates were reassured that the new VSLFOs were not based on any fundamentally new technology. Buyers can also expect the vast majority of the new fuels to be blends. Jack Grogan, Account Manager, Houston, VPS discussed the findings from testing of the new fuels. While the outlook is generally very position, there will be a need for more bunker testing once the new cap comes into force, he said. Emmanuel Gallegos, Senior Pricing Specialist, Americas Bunkers, S&P Global Platts, rounded out the session discussing pricing for the new fuels (they will be expensive) and highlighted the current challenge of finding pricing for the new fuels today given current low sales volumes for 0.50% material. Gallegos also shared that Platts' sees scrubber-equipped tonnage accounting for 15% of demand next year.
Session 3 was the regional focus, with Charles Chambers, CEO, West Indies Petroleum discussing the outlook for the Jamaica and North Caribbean market. Jamaica is ready for IMO2020, he said, and that as the market transitions to the new rules price is less important than quality and reliability. Yamil Lasten, Managing Director, Curoil, then discussed then outlook for the South Caribbean, and revealed that despite Curaçao not being a signatory to Marpol ANNEX VI it will be offering IMO2020 compliant fuel. The outlook for Panama was given by Carls Von Lindeman, Commercial Manager, Vopak, who said that Panama was close to establishing a new offshore bunkering location by 2020. The session's final presentation looking at the US Gulf Coast market was given by Debnil Chowdhury, Head of North American Refining, IHSMarkit, who told delegates that we were witnessing a return to the "golden age of refining." Chowdhury also highlighted how the uptake of scrubbers will continue into the next decade, and HSFO demand will bounce back to a certain degree after it craters at the end of the this year.
After breaking for lunch, session 4 addressed legal, commercial, and operational considerations. Georgia Kounalakis, Managing Director, Bunker One Physical (Gulf & Caribs) discussed the imminent shift for credit and counter party risk requirements. This is going to weigh heavily not only on shipowners but could even see suppliers pushed out of the market, she said, and warned that the thinking of being "too big to fail" no longer applies. IMO2020 will create a $2-$4 billion credit gap, she added. Robert E. O'Connor, Managing Partner, Montgomery McCracken, then looked at the new legal landscape and discussed a number of relevant recent legal cases. Sami Sarosh, VP, The Viswa Group, Houston then discussed the case for scrubbers as an IMO2020 solution before Dr. Eric Deans, Chief Executive Officer, Jamaica Special Economic Zone Authority rounded out the session with a discussion on how the use and benefits of SEZs can help drive the bunker industry.
The day ended with the Conference Formal Dinner hosted by conference Platinum Sponsor West Indies Petroleum. In addition to numerous networking opportunities, delegates also heard from a number of additional speakers including Hon. Fayval Williams, Jamaica's Minister of Science, Energy and Technology. Among her key messages was that Jamaican refiner Petrojam will be ready to supply INO2020 grade 0.50% sulfur fuels in time for the start of the new marine fuel sulfur cap on January 1, 2020.
Day 2 begin with session 5, which addressed compliance and enforcement. Steve Simms, Principal, Simms Showers LLP discussed FONARs and non-compliance before Jodi Munn-Barrow, Secretary General at Caribbean MOU on Port State Control, highlighted the many challenges the region faces to enforce the new IMO2020 rules.
Session 6 focused on the industry's future outlook, and begin with Unni Einemo, IBIA Director & IMO Representative, discussing the impact of the IMO2030 and IMO2050 pledges. New Fortress Energy's Kevin Frantz, Senior Vice President of Engineering and Distributed Solutions, and Danar Royal, Marine Operations Coordinator, also from New Fortress Energy, then discussed LNG bunkering. Among the highlights were a discussion of how Jamaica's winder ambitions to adopt LNG for power means the country is ready to become an LNG bunkering hub for the region. The session was rounded out by Capt. Sukhjit Singh, Deputy Director & Technical Head, UTT University, who discussed future fuels and ways we can future proof the marine fuels supply chain, before Einemo returned to deliver the conference's closing remarks.
Delegates then partook in a networking lunch before being given a tour of the New Fortress Energy LNG facility. The day, and conference programme, ended with the Post Conference Networking Reception at Hard Rock Café on Sunset Drive.
