Behind the announcement: welcoming ClearLynx to the ZeroNorth family

Earlier this month ZeroNorth announced that it had acquired ClearLynx, the industry’s leading online platform for the bunker fuel market. We’re extremely excited to welcome the ClearLynx team into the ZeroNorth family, and today we wanted to recap the highlights of this news and what it means for our customers.

Integrated, end-to-end solution

Acquiring ClearLynx is exciting for many reasons and, at its heart, will further our ambition to directly support and enable decarbonisation within the marine value chain.  

Once integrated, adding ClearLynx to the ZeroNorth platform means we will be able to provide ship owners and operators with an end-to-end solution for the cost and environmentally efficient optimisation of voyages, vessels and bunkers. From initial enquiry through to supply, this means we can support our customers and enable them to make informed decisions on all aspects of bunker fuel procurement and planning. 

Over the next year we will begin integrating ClearLynx into the ZeroNorth platform, but for the medium-term they will remain a separate brand. We’re doing a lot of hard work behind the scenes to tie up our data and solutions and facilitate a seamless transition. 

As our CEO Søren Meyer pointed out in Bunkerspot last week, “The team will be fully integrated, but we will operate as standalone ClearLynx and ZeroNorth brands and then the technology integration will focus on making data flow between the businesses for customers who use both service.”

This news is also exciting because of what ZeroNorth adds to ClearLynx. ClearLynx is the market leader for data on when and where to bunker, and how much, and they work in close collaboration with bunker departments. On the other hand, ZeroNorth has the data about where vessels are going and the optimal way to go from A to B. We think our real-time data on vessels will be immensely beneficial to ClearLynx customers and vice versa.

More importantly, this directly supports our ambition to connect more data across the maritime value chain. It means we are getting closer to a future where owners and charterers have full transparency over vessel performance and marine fuel procurement, and can make mutually beneficial decisions. These cross-processes will only grow over the next few years, based on the foundation of high-quality data that is secure and connected.

And, as we have shared in our recent interviews* on the topic, including with Ship & Bunker, the increased revenue generated by connected voyage, vessel and bunker optimisation recommendations can be injected back into the industry’s decarbonisation efforts, supporting the development of the future fuels and clean technologies that the industry needs to meet carbon targets.

The perfect partner

We chose ClearLynx because we have a shared value set and culture and, like ZeroNorth, want to accelerate the impact we can have on our industry.

As Gerry Van Geyzel, ClearLynx’s CEO, said in our announcement to the market, it makes sense for ClearLynx “to have been acquired by a company that is so dedicated and passionate in driving tangible and meaningful change to meet the decarbonisation challenge for the betterment of operators, the industry and the planet”, because we share goals and our vision for change.

We believe greatly in ClearLynx’s journey and plans, and as part of our team will forge ahead and execute their product enhancement roadmap over the coming months with further features and developments for customers of both companies to incorporate in their operations.

Even more excitingly for ZeroNorth, the news also expands our global presence adding New York, alongside Copenhagen, Piraeus, Mumbai and Varna. This will make it easier to engage with our North American customers and create a foundation for continued growth and sales within the region. 

Søren and Gerry discussed our acquisition at length in our latest video, which you can watch here. Make sure you stay tuned to our social media networks and Compass blog page for more updates as we further integrate ClearLynx into our team.

*TradeWinds Interview | ShippingWatch Interview | Børsen Interview | Bunkerspot Interview | Ship and Bunker Interview