EMEA News
Bunker Holding to Play Part in Getting to Zero: Demant
Keld Demant has picked out two topics that are talking points in the industry: tougher credit conditions and new fuels.
But you wouldn't expect anything less from the chief executive of the one of the world's biggest independent marine fuels company.
With the Covid-19 pandemic coming hot on the heals of the industry's biggest change in decades -- the move from 3.5% to 0.5% sulfur in bunker fuel -- uncertainty has increased with implications for credit where bridging that credit gap could be trying for some players.
"If you do not have a good relationship with your banks as you have with your clients and suppliers, you might see a challenge there," Demant was quoted as saying by shipping news provider Tradewinds.
And he added that he could see challenges ahead for bunker suppliers that fail to assess counterparty risks accurately amid uncertainty caused by the pandemic.
The other big story in bunkers is new fuels.
Bunker Holding is now part of the Getting to Zero industry coalition which has the development of commercially viable zero-emission vessels by 2030 as its goal.
Demant hopes his company will be able to contribute to industry efforts with its knowledge of bunkering infrastructure.
"80% of the investment needed for bringing forward a complete new type of product is in the infrastructure," Demant was quoted as saying.
"While the energy transition needs to take place inside and outside the shipping industry, Demant can see a role for his company.
"We are the supplier who has the most knowledge about the 2,800 bunkering ports in the world, supplying in most of them throughout the year. I think it's very natural that we take part of this," he told the publication.
