Fueled Thoughts: Recent Episodes
Sandi Ennor Transparensea Fuels
From the frontline of marine fuels, the team at Transparensea Fuels brings you Fueled Thoughts. A weekly podcast focused on all things related to marine fuels and energy: trends, news, alternative fuels, practices and developments. For anyone in the maritime and marine fuels space, Fueled Thoughts will shed some insight into the latest and greatest impacting your industry.
Tradewinds hosted their Green Seas Fuels Forum 2023 on 9 March in NYC. What an awesome day and event! The room and panels were filled with first movers and stakeholders that are all committed to driving change towards net zero shipping. This week's episode highlights our key takeaways. Panels were focused on fuel selections, financing, and development. This is an event that I will surely be attending in the future, but I hope that you enjoy this summary.
As we move towards more and more Dual-Fuel MGO/LNG ships on the water, spot LNG pricing and stemming is in our very near future. This week we are covering the basics of LNG pricing along with a glimpse at gas volatility over the last year. Are we finally entering into an era of LNG pricing competing with LSMGO? It's looking like yes.
It's easy to take a protective approach when it comes to sharing information in the bunkering industry. Let's face it - it doesn't have the best reputation when it comes to trust and ethics. I think there is room to change that, and in this week's episode we discuss why we believe in collaborating and sharing with your trusted counter-parties when you are planning your fuel requirements or looking at steps to take in preparation for IMO 2030/2050.
At present, spot LNG Bunkering in the Americas is done via very specific contracts between buyers and suppliers. There is however increased investment and interest in developing much the needed infrastructure required to make spot LNG bunkering a reality. This week we are specifically talking about LNG and the Panama Canal. If you have questions or would like updates on spot LNG bunkering globally, please let us know. Enjoy!
I love starting off the New Year, not with resolutions, but with intentions. Concrete things that I want to make the priority for my year. We are keeping it light and breezy this week with some things that you might want to consider when you think about your 2023 approach to bunker purchasing. As you think about what you want to accomplish in 2023, let us know what those things are and how the Transparensea Fuels team can help. Happy 2023!
We are closing out 2022 with a quick chat about what Tsea-Green - Our Alternative Fuels Support Program, will be looking to accomplish in 2023. Now is the time to start looking ahead to what goals we want to set and slay in the next year. Tsea-Green is ready and waiting for your projects. So let us know what you need to have the most successful 2023 and transition through IMO 2030 and 2050. Wishing you all a lovely holiday season and a healthy and prosperous 2023.
Folks at the IMO have been very busy over the last 2 weeks discussing the IMO's fuel consumption Data Collection System (DCS), which is the basis for the upcoming Carbon Intensity Indicators (CII) reporting requirements, set to come into effect on 1 January 2023. Margaret Kaigh Doyle, Head of Tsea-Green, the Transparensea Fuels Alternative Fuels Support Program, sat in on these meetings and provided us with the Cliff Notes. Take a listen to hear how those discussions went. By the time you are listening to this, the end report of the Marine Environmental Protection Committee' 79th meeting (MEPC79) might even be released with hopefully some good news for the shipping industry regarding amendments to DCS.
For our 20th episode (WOW - 20!) I'm going to share some holiday survival tips with regards to bunker purchasing. It seems that the joy of the holiday season always seems to be accompanied by bunker issues. Why is this? Well, mainly because the entire industry around the globe is ready to relax and let loose a little bit. So it's always a good idea to take the extra 10-30 mins every day to check on your fuel stems. This episode covers what I think are the core issues that folks bump into over the holiday season. So take a listen and I hope some of these tips help you out!
After 8 months of work, BIMCO just released their CII Operations Clause for Time Charter Parties. It puts the responsibility for maintaining agreed upon CII targets on the shoulders of the time charterer. It marks a good starting point for owners and charterers to cooperate and work together as the January 1 implementation date for CII reporting is just around the corner.
Not only is Halloween just around the corner, the 1 November 2022 IMO implementation date for MARPOL Annex VI Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) regulation, is right on its heels. This episode covers the basics with regards to CII and I'm sure this won't be the last time we talk about CII on this podcast. The Transparensea Fuels Alternative Fuels Team is here to help us all navigate the misinformation that is out there regarding alternative fuels and the push towards net zero. So take a listen, and let us know what questions you have! Standing by to support you!
With the push to net zero, and the development all new engines and fuels, training for our onboard crews is about to enter a new era of new procedures and increased technical wherewith-all. This episode explores some questions surrounding how the industry should be approaching training and standardization now to prepare for the future. Thanks for listening!
This is the only feel good piece you are getting folks. Next week we are back to business with serious content and a big announcement for Transparensea Fuels (I can't wait!!!). Long Story short - the people in this community and industry are fabulous and I can't encourage people enough to get back out there and spend time with each other. Maritime Week Americas put on by Petrospot, is and always will be a fabulous event and one that I hope to attend every year. So with that - you're getting a lot of love from the road and some encouragement to get out and about and keep making shipping awesome.
Even in volatile markets, there are best practices to consider when sourcing your bunkers. While crude prices have come down quite a bit over the last few months, we still are seeing quite a bit of day to day as well as intraday volatility. Also, as we move into Q4, we will start to see the end of year avails tightness that impacts our markets every year. If you are wondering what are some ways to get the best pricing, quality and market support, take a quick listen. Thanks!
When there is an issue onboard during a bunker delivery, it can lead to a myriad of follow-on problems. And why does this always seem to happen in the middle of the night??? This week we are touching on steps that you can take to help protect yourself against issues that may arise onboard during your bunker deliveries.
I know we've chatted about credit before, but it's such a huge topic that we could probably cover credit every week! This week we are touching on credit strategies. Having a global, comprehensive approach when it comes to your bunker credit lines, is imperative, especially when pricing is so volatile. Are you spending enough time on your credit strategy? Are there things with regards to bunker credit that you aren't considering? Maybe. Take a listen.
Let's face it - this is shipping. It is constantly moving and changing and when things don't go perfectly, there are 2 different routes you can take: Commercially flexible or Hard-Line. This week we cover what we feel to be the best approach for both short and long term solutions. Can you guess which one that is??
It seems like quantity disputes creep up more and more when prices get higher. Coincidence? Probably not. Regardless, they are a truly unfortunate part of this business and no one likes them. That being said - this episode covers some do's and don'ts when it comes to getting that phone call from the ship in the middle of the night. The Transparensea team is always here to assist with these best practices at any time - so let us know how we can help! Enjoy!
We are closing out our 5 part series on our rules in bunkering. This one is more of an emotional one. What's the saying? You catch more flies with honey? As the marine fuel market continues it's volatile trek and global economic uncertainty persists, this rule in bunkering is maybe our most important one: Be a good business partner. Easier said than done sometimes. Take a listen and I hope you agree.
This rule is an important one and a costly one: Pay your bills! With marine fuel being the number one operating cost of darn near all shipping coming, paying bunker bills is important and expensive. This week we are covering just why it's so important and some situations that folks find themselves in that leads them to not pay their bill on time. If you are interested in learning about why timely bunker payments is just darn right good for you - hit play!
Priorities, priorities. We all have them but are we honest and clear about what they are? Why is this important when it comes to purchasing fuel? This week we cover why it's important to have your priorities straight when it comes to what you need when it comes to your marine fuel requirements. Enjoy!
It's all about communication folks! This episode covers what can help you prevent issues with bunkering simply by clear thorough communication. No matter what your role in a bunker delivery operation is - this episode covers suggestions for getting the fuel delivered and the ship on its way in a smooth fashion.
Did you know there are actually 5 basic bunkering rules? These rules can and should (our opinion) be used at all times in all markets. This is the first in a series of 5 where we cover Rule 1: Planning is Key. Want to hear all the ways this can be a great tool for you? Press play.
The last week has seen a drastic shift in how suppliers are quoting fuel stems. This episode covers the current trends and offers some suggestions on how to navigate this ridiculously volatile market and landscape.
In the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the shipping and marine fuel markets are just in the beginning stages of being significantly impacted. Here is a glimpse into one small perspective of this which carries larger implications, and how you can be a positive impact to your counter-parties.
A quick thought on how to propel us from where we are today into and beyond IMO 2030. We don't get too technical here - so don't stress.
Our focus is on tightening credit lines this week as the price of crude rallies. We will discuss a common practice that could put you at risk.