Probunkers Sets Out Stall as Global LNG Bunker Player

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Thursday June 21, 2018

The emerging market in liquified natural gas (LNG) as marine fuel is set to go beyond its initial stage and Alexander Prokopakis, a Greek entrepreneur with 14 years' experience in shipping and bunkering already under his belt, is brimming with confidence.

His recently launched company, Probunkers, is the vehicle by which he hopes to achieve his goal of becoming a global player in the LNG bunker fuel market.

The Probunkers model marries a global view of the market with owning and operating the physical assets that supply the fuel.

"It is a good model and one we intend to follow," Prokopakis told Ship & Bunker in a telephone interview Thursday. This business trajectory also includes listing on the US capital markets.

"Five years after we start operating, we will launch an initial public offering in the US," he said.

That IPO will provide the investment required to expand his global vision. LNG bunker barges do not come cheap, around $35 million for a 5,500 cubic metre vessel by his reckoning.

"Although I expect some costs in the LNG bunker space to fall over time as the market becomes more established."  Nevertheless, the global vision will require significant capital flows.

Probunkers will start operating in the second half of 2022 in seven ports with one barge stationed in each port.

Singapore features among the seven. Isn't the Southeast Asian bunkering hub one of the most competitive markets out there?

Prokopakis doesn't disagree. "It is very competitive," he said. "But there will be fewer players than in the conventional oil-based bunker market currently operating in Singapore and the barriers to entry are high, making first mover advantage a viable prospect."

In addition to seeing LNG bunkering in global terms and owning and operating the assets, Prokopakis said cargo trading is integral to the Probunkers package as a future opportunity.

"Cargo trading is a high margin business," he said.

When asked in interviews for one word to describe the Probunkers project, Prokopakis said 'ambitious' fits the bill. But it is more than ambition as the idea has been buzzing around his head for quite a while. The crucial difference is 2020 and the end of heavy fuel oil as the bunker market's mainstay.

"For LNG bunkering, the time is right," he said.