EMEA News
Flexible Fuel Strategies Will Help Operators Adapt to Energy Transition: Auramarine CEO
Shipping operators will need flexible fuel strategies to adapt to changing fuel availability, prices and environmental regulations, according to Finnish fuel supply and auxiliary system provider Auramarine CEO John Bergman.
“The industry has spent years asking which fuel will win,” Bergman said in an emailed statement on Wednesday.
“That may be the wrong question.”
He said operators cannot predict with confidence which fuels will be available, compliant or commercially viable in the coming years.
“The operators who adapt best will be the ones who built in the flexibility to their fuel strategy to respond as conditions change,” Bergman said.
Auramarine’s fuel split technology, first delivered in 2019 and now installed on around 20 vessels, is designed to give ships greater flexibility.
The retrofit system allows vessels to use different fuels, such as MGO and biofuel, through the same engine without lengthy changeover procedures.
The system can also be retrofitted to vessels already in service, allowing operators to switch fuels to meet emissions requirements, maintenance needs or changes in fuel prices.
Bergman said cruise and ferry operators are among those facing the strongest need for flexibility as they regularly operate across different regulatory zones and environmentally sensitive waters.
“Cruise and ferry operators feel this earliest and most acutely,” he said.
“These vessels constantly move between regulatory zones and environmentally sensitive waters, so the ability to switch fuel supply without disrupting a schedule is an operational necessity.”
Auramarine said flexibility also needs to be matched with appropriate maintenance, servicing and technical support throughout a vessel’s lifecycle.
“Over the next few years, operators who succeed will be the ones who stopped waiting for certainty and started building optionality instead,” Bergman said.
“In a transition this uncertain, adaptability matters more than any single fuel bet.”
Key Bunker Prices More
| VLSFO | MGO | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $/mt | +/- | $/mt | +/- | |
| Singapore | 874.00 | 5.00 | 1304.00 | 6.00 |
| Rotterdam | 698.50 | 5.00 | 1430.00 | 11.50 |
| Houston | 748.00 | 15.00 | 1386.50 | 23.00 |
| Fujairah | 976.00 | 7.50 | 1686.00 | 8.50 |
| EMEA Average | 860.50 | 0.50 | 1718.00 | 8.50 |
| Global 20 Ports Average | 882.00 | 7.00 | 1534.00 | 5.50 |
| Global 4 Ports Average | 824.00 | 5.50 | 1451.50 | 6.50 |
| Global Average Bunker Price | 938.00 | 8.00 | 1608.00 | 10.50 |
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