World News
New Tool Helps Optimise Fuel Purchasing
Marine software and IT services company Inatech says it is launching a new tool to help ship operators decide where to buy fuel, how much to buy, and whether to use spot or contract price strategies.
The tool, called the Optimizer, is an add-on to Inatech's ShipTECH cloud fuel procurement system.
Inatech say the Optimizer has delivered cost savings of up to 5 percent in proof-of-concept evaluations for large shipping companies, resulting in a potential annual saving of $8 million for an average shipping company paying $400 million a year on fuel.
The existing ShipTECH solution supports a workflow to avoid last-minute purchases, provides data to support negotiations, and ensures the accuracy of quality and quantity of fuel.
The Optimizer adds a "predictive intelligence" tool that recommends how much fuel to buy and takes into account fuel availability and price trends.
"Ship operators are coming under ever increasing pressure to minimize their fuel costs, hence the trend towards measures such as slow-steaming," said Inatech CEO Jean-Herve Jenn.
"With Optimizer, Inatech now offers a smart solution to achieve very significant fuel cost savings that could make the crucial difference between running at a loss and profitability."
Inatech said earlier this year that high fuel prices and new environmental regulations that force companies to use more expensive low-sulfur fuel are increasing the importance of optimising fuel purchases.
Key Bunker Prices More
| VLSFO | MGO | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $/mt | +/- | $/mt | +/- | |
| Singapore | 509.00 | 4.50 | 623.00 | 3.00 |
| Rotterdam | 463.00 | 7.00 | 623.50 | 2.00 |
| Houston | 471.50 | 4.50 | 627.50 | 3.50 |
| Fujairah | 501.00 | 4.50 | 714.00 | 1.00 |
| Global 20 Ports Average | 529.00 | 2.50 | 714.50 | 2.50 |
| Global 4 Ports Average | 486.00 | 3.00 | 647.00 | 2.50 |
| Global Average Bunker Price | 572.50 | 2.00 | 753.00 | 2.00 |
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