What I Learned by Moving from Being an Engineer at Sea to Selling Bunkers

NSI's Alex Jones. Image Credit: NSI

After spending 6 years at sea as an engineering officer on large container ships and platform supply vessels worldwide, I recently moved ashore to become a bunker broker. I enjoyed my time at sea but a move shore-side was something I had wanted to do for a number of years, in part because I was looking for a different challenge. I'd always really enjoyed the bunkering operations and the challenges that came from it, from a vessels crew point of view. So when this opportunity with NSI came along to move to the other side of the bunker equation, I had to take it.

When I started to research more about this industry I was surprised to find that a lot of brokers and traders do not have any operational experience. So while I didn't know a lot about sourcing well priced bunkers I knew from my time at sea that an important part of what a broker does comes after the initial sale. With my experience this was definitely an area where I could add value.

For example, having been in the role for 6 months I have found that people with real-world operational experience can look at the problems owners or suppliers may come across in a different way. We can evaluate them from the view point of someone who has also been in that situation themselves.

For me, this particularly helps with claims and disputes because I've experienced it from the other side, and I can better evaluate the challenges of the geographical location, type of vessel, and in some cases, even the machinery the vessels have on board. It also very much allows me to understand operational difficulties that owners and their vessels may encounter and relay that effectively to suppliers. In some cases my experience has even allowed me to give advice to owners of alternative locations that may be more convenient to them for bunkering.

Equally, I can see now that sellers do a lot that buyers might take for granted. For example, initially working out which suppliers are in which ports all over the world was a big mountain to climb. Getting to know the individual buyers and suppliers was also a bit of a learning process. It must be said that the systems we use in the office make this process a huge amount easier as they show us who the suppliers are in each port, what their terms and conditions are, and who the right contacts are in each port. It's a great starting point and the more I talk to people and get a relationship with them, the easier it becomes. But it takes time and reputation means a lot.

The system also gives us a great number of live price feeds and reports, but again it's the people that make the difference and I feel lucky to be working in an open office where my colleagues are happy to share their knowledge of how to structure spot contracts, hedging deals etc. This, coupled with a very structured training program made my transition from something that is not necessarily strictly bunker focused to this profession, very manageable.

In addition to the above, the difference in working styles between sea-side and shore-side are totally different, which has been a challenge in itself. On board, you're in the engine room for 10 hours, the work you do is the work the planned maintenance computer gives you, as well as any reactive maintenance required. In an office/shore-side environment, there is a huge amount of correlating of information and making up your own mind on what is happening in the market, and working out why. There is also, of course a change in working attitude. As mentioned, on board you're on shift for say 10 hours, and then you're off. Unless you're the duty engineer, you don't have to worry again until 0800 the next morning. As a broker, you're on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, which I found a little intimidating at first but become natural soon enough.

Between leaving the merchant navy and joining NSI, I completed a degree during which I focused on slow steaming of containerships. This has given me a great understanding of how the fuel system can be optimised for greatest efficiency, and also how ship owners can save the most money on their fuel expenditure. For my clients, I can now offer advice based on theory as well as my own personal experience. For me personally, it is a reminder of just how important knowledge and experience are as part of the bunker buying process.