IBIA Ups Annual Membership Fees

The price of IBIA membership is going up. File Image / Pixabay

The International Bunker Industry Association (IBIA) is set to raise its membership fees later this year.

From September 1 IBIA's individual annual membership fee will rise to £300, the organisation said in a note to members earlier this month, up from £250 previously, and the new corporate membership fee increases to £1,500, up from £1,300.

A 15% discount is available for three-year memberships.

"We always try to keep our membership fees to a minimum," the organisation said in the note.

"However, from time to time a price increase is necessary to ensure we can service our members with relevant information, representation at IMO, events and network opportunities as well as providing all members with our quarterly magazine."

The increase follows a disruptive 18 months for many industry bodies who have been forced to curtail their activities in the face of global restrictions to address the Coronavirus pandemic.

IBIA has been no exception, as it was notably forced to cancel its annual IP Week dinner in London in February -- one of the bunker industry's biggest events and key source of revenues for IBIA -- because of travel restrictions. Last year IBIA also launched a campaign seeking donations from its members to tide the organisation over during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In December the organisation said KPI OceanConnect, Fratelli Cosulich, BMS United, Energy Petrol, A/S Dan-Bunkering Ltd, Glander International Bunkering, Monjasa A/S, Maersk Oil Trading Ltd and Bunker One A/S had collectively contributed more than £40,000, but that it expected its income to be £100,000 lower in the 2020/21 financial year than in previous years.