EMEA News
Many Players Expecting Noncompliance With 2020 Regs, Poll Suggests
Many players are expecting noncompliance with the upcoming 0.50 percent sulfur cap on bunkers, a poll conducted at the recent Fujairah Bunkering & Fuel Oil Forum (FUJCON) has suggested.
When asked about how operators and owners would comply with the new rules set to come into force in 2020, 35 percent of respondents felt there would be noncompliance.
An equal number of respondents felt there would be a shift to compliant distillates, while the adoption of scrubbers was backed by 7 percent of respondents, and 23 percent saw buyers opting for low sulfur fuel oil.
The 2020 sulfur cap has also been seen as a driver for vessels switching to the use of LNG bunkers, but 65 percent of respondents in a separate poll said they thought the cost of building infrastructure and assessing risks, considering the return of investment and cost of capital leverage, were among the reasons why LNG bunkers may take longer to be adopted in the region.
FUJCON 2017 was held at the end of March and attended by over 400 delegates from nearly 40 countries.
The Forum and pre-conference courses covered a wide range of topics, both global and regional in nature, with the upcoming 0.50 percent global sulfur cap on bunkers just one of several key topics discussed during the event.
A separate poll on the use of Mass Flow Meters (MFMs) found that participants felt they "are a necessary development step for the bunker business," with 77 percent of respondents answering "yes" when asked if they agreed with the statement, 17 percent answering "no", and 6 percent saying they were unsure.
When conference participants were asked if the 2014 collapse of OW Bunker had lead to "a significant change in the way how bunker suppliers and bunker traders in UAE conduct their operations" 69 percent of respondents said they either agreed or "tend to agree" with the statement.
No-one flat out disagreed.
Another well reported reality of today's market has been increased competition, and 70 percent of respondents thought Fujairah should be worried about other regional ports looking to compete for bunker business.
"Fujcon continues to draw the leading bunker and storage players, with the profile of attendance including physical suppliers, buyers/sellers and independent traders dealing in fuel oil, oil storage and refining groups, IOCs and NOCs, ship-owners, international maritime organisations, classification societies, banks, legal and claim specialists and marine fuel experts," FUJCON event organizers said.
"This year's attendance also includes LNG Bunkering players, design specialists and LNG traders amongst the audience."
The 11th edition of the Fujairah Bunkering Week is planned for 25 – 27 March 2019.
