IMO Decarbonisation Goals Strengthen Case for Global Adoption of MFMs: TFG Marine

The paper was written in collaboration with marine fuel supply expert Adrian Tolson of 2050 Marine Energy. Image Credit: TFG Marine / 2050 Marine Energy

TFG Marine today launched a fresh call for the global adoption of calibrated coriolis mass flow meters (MFMs) for bunkering with the release of a new industry-endorsed white paper, "Modernising marine fuel delivery".

The paper was written in collaboration with marine fuel supply expert Adrian Tolson of 2050 Marine Energy and endorsed by a host of well know industry stakeholders including Fratelli Cosulich, Hartree Marine, CEPSA, Lloyds Register, Hafnia, and Frontline.

Among the paper's key arguments are:

• Standards-based MFM delivery can help eliminate quantity delivery issues, limit disputes, build trust, enhance industry efficiency, and cut bunkering time
• MFMs provide transparency and enable the tools needed to digitalise the industry, both of which are needed if the industry is to meet the IMO's carbon reduction ambition of net zero by near-2050

"Port authorities should be looking to adopt ISO 22192, the international standard recommended by the International Bunker Industry Association (IBIA), as soon as possible. Currently, this may seem challenging at some smaller ports. Decisive action at key maritime hubs can shift the dial," the paper says.

"Marine fuel suppliers must progressively introduce ISO 22192-compliant MFM systems, not just where it is mandatory, but at other international locations. In their non-MFM jurisdictions, they can still offer calibrated MFM delivery by teaming up with accredited conformity assessment bodies.

"Shipowners and fuel buyers should aim to continue to buy from these suppliers even if headline prices move higher. Educational initiatives setting out the real costs and risks of non-MFM delivery can provide commercial rationale.

"Above all, industry stakeholders need to join forces across the bunker supply chain to promote standards- compliant mass flow metering internationally.

"There is a powerful case for implementing standards-compliant mass flow metering across the bunker industry. Adopted worldwide, it will be transformational. What is needed now is for the industry to work together to make it happen."

The white paper can be read in full here: https://www.tfgmarine.com/resource-centre/brochures/modernising-marine-fuel-delivery/

Short Deliveries

Tolson and TFG Marine CEO Kenneth Dam are both well known advocates of MFMs, having previously made headlines advicating for wider adoption of the technology.

In 2022 the pair were key voices in a push by some 50 industry players calling for mandatory MFMs in the key bunkering ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp.

That year, research by Tolson also found that in 2021 short deliveries at Rotterdam and Fujairah had cost bunker buyers a combined $250 million.

Since then, the Port of Rotterdam has confirmed it will make MFMs mandatory from 2026, while the Port of Fujairah in November said it is actively considering doing the same.

Currently, only Singapore has rules mandating the use of MFMs for bunkering, and in the white paper releaed today, Tolson points to the city state's success in having done so.

Indeed, in 2020 Tolson suggested the technology had saved marine fuel buyers some US$1.7 billion since MFMs were introduced in 2017, an amount far grater than the official savings estimates made by the country's Maritime and Port Authority (MPA).

Decarbonization Imperative

While MFMs are perhaps known best for helping guard against various short delivery malpractices such as cappuccino bunkers, Tolson suggests the major impetus for MFM adoption is now the support of industry decarbonization efforts.

"These decarbonisation efforts depend on a modernised bunker industry and the transaction transparency provided by MFMs is a pre-requisite for that," he says.

"Widespread MFM adoption marks the first step towards a fully digitalised bunker industry that opens the door to all types of electronic data exchange possibilities."

With industry emissions directly related to bunker consumption, emissions reduction efforts can only be measured effectively if fuel consumption is measured effectively.

While IMO now has rules in place that require vessels to report their bunker consumption, Tolson argues that this reporting has a considerable level of uncertainty as many vessel owners receive incorrect delivery quantities from their suppliers, meaning their reported figures are therefore likely to overstate consumption.

These shortcomings can be avoided by instead accurately measuring delivered bunker volumes using MFMs.

"The International Maritime Organization (IMO) ... announced an accelerated strategy in 2023 which aims to reach net zero by close to 2050," Tolson says in the white paper.

"An opaque, distortive bunker market acts as an obstacle to that. If shipowners cannot accurately identify how much fuel they are using, it is far harder to identify which vessels and fuels perform more efficiently.

"With carbon taxes and other regulatory incentives likely in the near future, it is more important than ever that shipowners have accurate inventories of their actual fuel consumption and related emissions. This adds urgency to the case for implementing mass flow metering."