Beyond procurement: the importance of prompt bunker supply

The importance of supplying bunkers promptly is a critical aspect of ensuring seamless maritime operations. Delays post-procurement can disrupt schedules, impacting financial outcomes and contractual commitments.

Challenges such as fluctuating fuel prices, regulatory compliance, and the availability of bunker types across different ports add layers of complexity to ensuring the right fuel is delivered to the right vessel at the right time. Streamlining this process is vital for minimising setbacks and maintaining the industry’s commitment to smooth, sustainable trade.

Hurdles to prompt bunker supply

Short supply: Navigating the unpredictability of bunker fuel supply poses a significant challenge, particularly when short supplies leave buyers unable to meet their operational needs. This scarcity not only disrupts vessel schedules, but also inflates costs, compelling operators to seek alternative, potentially less optimal, fuel sources.

Price volatility: The fuel market is known for its price fluctuations, influenced by global oil prices, geopolitical tensions, and supply-demand dynamics. This volatility makes budgeting and financial planning challenging for operators and suppliers, necessitating strategic purchasing practices and risk management tools to mitigate financial exposure.

Internal communication gaps: Efficient coordination between operations and bunker departments is critical for timely supply. When these teams operate in silos or are misaligned on data, it risks short notice for the bunker team to procure and deliver fuel. This can delay the entire supply process, impacting vessel schedules and increasing operational costs as urgent procurement often comes at a premium.

Delivery of documentation: The traditional reliance on paper-based processes for bunker delivery documentation can lead to delays and inefficiencies. Timely and accurate delivery of documents is crucial to ensure compliance, facilitate smooth transactions, and prevent disputes over fuel quantity and quality.

Manual data entry: Manual entry of fuel procurement and consumption data is prone to errors and inefficiencies, consuming valuable time and resources. This labour-intensive process can lead to inaccuracies in tracking and reporting, impacting decision-making and operational transparency.

Data accuracy and transparency: Ensuring the accuracy and transparency of data related to bunker transactions is crucial for effective management. Inaccurate data can lead to poor decision-making, while a lack of transparency may result in mistrust among stakeholders, affecting negotiations and partnerships.

Visibility and availability: Gaining real-time visibility into fuel availability across different ports is essential for efficient bunker management. Operators often struggle with obtaining accurate, up-to-date information on fuel types and quantities available, complicating the procurement process.

Concerns about competition: In a highly competitive market, maintaining an edge requires access to the best fuel options at competitive prices. Operators must navigate competitive concerns, including securing reliable suppliers and negotiating favourable terms amidst varying market conditions.

Access to green fuels and infrastructure: The transition to green fuels to meet the industry’s zero emissions goals introduces new challenges related to fuel availability, compatibility, and infrastructure readiness. Operators must adapt to these emerging fuels while ensuring their vessels are equipped and their operations are compliant with environmental regulations.

The solution: harnessing innovative technologies

The maritime industry is actively tackling these hurdles, striving towards a supply chain that's more efficient, transparent, and environmentally conscious. Navigating through these evolving challenges necessitates a commitment to digital solutions and the adoption of innovative technologies, including:

Mass flow meters (MFM)

Mass flow meters offer a high degree of accuracy in measuring fuel quantity, directly addressing issues of short supply and ensuring buyers receive the exact amount of fuel purchased. This technology not only enhances transparency, but also significantly reduces the likelihood of disputes over quantity.

Electronic bunker delivery notes (eBDN)

Electronic bunker delivery notes streamline the documentation process, making it faster and more efficient. By digitising the bunker delivery process, eBDNs eliminate manual data entry errors, ensure data accuracy, and improve the speed of documentation delivery, facilitating smoother operational flow and reducing the risk of delays.

Cleaner fuel formulations

The adoption of cleaner fuel formulations is paving the way for a greener maritime industry, helping operators meet stringent environmental regulations while also addressing competitive concerns by making vessels more attractive to sustainability conscious charterers.

Together, these technologies form a robust framework that enhances visibility, ensures compliance with regulatory standards, and fosters a more competitive stance in the market. By embracing these digital and sustainable innovations, the maritime industry can significantly mitigate the challenges of bunker supply, leading to more efficient, reliable, and sustainable operations.

How ZeroNorth can help

At the close of 2023, ZeroNorth marked a significant milestone by receiving the Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) of Singapore's approval for our electronic bunker delivery note (eBDN) solution, becoming one of four providers to achieve this recognition.

ZeroNorth's eBDN is at the forefront of transforming the bunker delivery process, streamlining and securing transactions to enhance operational efficiency within the maritime industry. The slow exchange of documentation between suppliers, banks, and financial institutions has long been a bottleneck, delaying transactions and clouding the efficiency of operations. Our digital platform cuts through these delays with swift, secure verification of fuel quantities, ensuring transactions are as smooth as they are swift, enhancing the security and reliability of the entire process.

Recognising that not all operations can be managed online, our eBDN solution is designed with the flexibility to accommodate offline operations as well, ensuring no bunker operation is left behind in the digital transition.

Our eBDN software draws on the rich heritage of industry insights, international customer base, and understanding of the challenges associated with using paper documents, and has paved the way for an innovative web-based application that seamlessly connects bunker suppliers, and buyers as well as financial institutions and ports authorities, within the same system. For those already using our other bunker products, the eBDN seamlessly integrates, further increasing efficiency.
 

Key features

✓ Streamlined operations: automated and digital solution to reduce manual workload and manual errors

✓ Swift documentation: seamlessly deliver crucial documents between stakeholders

✓ Enhanced security: mitigate risks of errors and tampering through our secure digital platform

Leveraging digital technology and data analytics, ZeroNorth equips maritime operators with innovative solutions, positioning maritime operators to enhance their operational workflows and support sustainability efforts effectively.