Marine Fuels Alliance Schedules Initial Industry Focus Groups

Anthony Mollet, CEO, Marine Fuels Alliance. Image Credit: MFA

Industry body the has set up a series of initial focus groups over May and June on a range of topics affecting the bunker industry.

The organisation has a series of meetings scheduled over May and June, the first two of which on sanctions, compliance and marine credit it held earlier this month, CEO Anthony Mollet told Ship & Bunker this week.

"We're doing inaugural meetings to get the groups established, more than anything to plan the agendas," Mollet said.

"We've started the meetings for the sake of getting suppliers feeling that they're involved, and to get the partner companies talking about their specialist areas.

"We decided to address topics in the first instance where we know we can create resources and help right away.

"Other areas are going to require more detailed meetings and work to carefully produce the support and services suppliers need, for example in the areas of financial resources and insurance policies."

The meetings follow a structure of an introduction to the topic by one of the MFA's partner companies with expertise in the area, followed by a discussion among the organisation's bunker supplier members on their concerns and views on the subject.

The initial schedule of meetings is as follows, with two of the focus groups having already met:

• 3rd May: Sanctions & Compliance: What checks suppliers should be making, and guidance for creating a Sanctions and Compliance policy
• 10th May: Credit, Finance & Risk: how to interpret credit reports and make assessments for suitable credit lines
• 19th May: Sustainability: where should the MFA focus its support and guidance for members? An outline of Carbon offsetting and Carbon Credit trading
• 26th May: Operations & Processes: Claims, Disputes and Debt Recovery: types of claims and examples of how to communicate when faced with a new or ongoing claim
• 2nd June: Technological: Digital Solutions and new technology in the bunker industry
• 9th June: Commercial & Promotions: how the MFA should promote itself and engage with marketing campaigns; how members are to promote and support the MFA through their business
• 16th June: Operations & Processes: how suppliers can get help with writing their T&Cs; incorporating BIMCO terms

"We're very keen that it's not the same group doing each topic, and as the membership is growing I'm able to reach out to different companies and individuals to participate," Mollet said.

The organisation is also conducting a survey for bunker suppliers, seeking to identify which areas of the industry require attention.

For more information, click here.