Decarbonisation the Theme and Collaboration the Buzzword at IBIA Convention’s Return to Europe

IBIA’s Annual Convention returned to Europe this year after outings to the US and UAE in 2022 and 2023, bringing close to 300 delegates to Athens in early November.

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Athens remains one of the world’s leading maritime hubs, and IBIA has been seeking to bring more of the shipping firms based there into active participation in the industry body. This community is both well-placed to have a detailed view of the impact of increasingly European regulations on maritime emissions, as well as having a wider outlook on the global bunker and freight markets.

The overarching theme of the event was of the need for collaboration in an increasingly complex business. Decarbonisation, digitalisation and compliance are all topics growing more complicated by the year, and market participants will need to work together to keep on top of them. IBIA will continue to position itself as the natural conduit through which this collaboration can be achieved.

This year’s event started with two training sessions – one on the 2024 iteration of the ISO 8217 specifications and the second on future fuels – led by IBIA Treasurer Nigel Draffin and with guest trainer slots filled by Stuart Carpenter of Carnival Corporation, Fridtjof Muri Clausen

of Yara Clean Ammonia, Fredrik Stubner of Green Marine and Martijn Van Den Berg of Oldendorff Carriers.

Keld Demant, CEO of the world’s largest bunker company, revealed he had attended one of these courses some 26 years ago. Any mistakes on his part since then could be attributed to Draffin, Demant said.

Opening Speeches

IBIA’s Executive Director Alexander Prokopakis launched the event, welcoming delegates to his

home town.

IBIA Chair Constantinos Capetanakis then delivered an opening address, beginning by announcing the launch of IBIA’s new regional board for Europe. This completed the rollout of five local bodies representing local expertise from Asia, Africa, the Americas, the Middle East and Europe.

Christos Stylianides, Greece’s minister of maritime affairs and insular policy, delivered a keynote address setting out his country’s position on decarbonisation policy for shipping and the need for collaboration.

George J. Tsunis, the US ambassador to Greece, gave the second keynote speech, reminding the industry of the need for vigilance on sanctions compliance.

And a recorded appearance from IMO Secretary General Arsenio Dominguez detailed recent progress at the global level on decarbonisation regulations.

Capetanakis was then interviewed on stage by Ship.Energy CEO Llewellyn Bankes-Hughes, discussing his efforts as Chair to bring a wider range of voices from various parts of the supply chain into IBIA’s work. He said that progress was already being made to bring more of Greece’s shipowning community into the membership, and that IBIA would continue to be fuel- and technology-agnostic in its approach to representing the industry at the IMO and elsewhere.

Panel Discussions

In the presentations and panel sessions that followed, the shift to biofuels was a major theme, with EU regulations expected to drive a significant boost to demand next year.

The geopolitical situation was also a repeated talking-point, with delegates discussing the potential impact of the new Trump Administration in the US on the conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine.

Decarbonisation and digitalisation were often discussed at the same time, with these two themes now recognised as symbiotic and needing to be addressed simultaneously.

The first panel discussion brought together a range of shipping association representatives and IBIA’s Alexander Prokopakis for a conversation about the current state of the bunker industry and its relationship with shipping and other sectors. This was followed by IBIA IMO Representative Edmund Hughes leading a panel on the regulatory landscape, setting out the increasingly complex framework within which bunkering operates.

IBIA Vice Chair Adrian Tolson delivered a presentation setting out in detail the outlook for the Mediterranean market, highlighting in particular the sharp changes to both local and global bunker demand likely to emerge from the introduction of an emissions control area there next year. Global fuel oil demand is likely to drop significantly when the ECA comes into effect in May, alongside a sharp rise in MGO demand, while the combination of the ECA and GHG regulations could present an opportunity for Mediterranean alternative fuel supply to emerge.

The two final panels of the first day discussed similar topics but from opposing viewpoints: the buyers and sellers of marine fuel. Senior executives from both shipping and bunkering firms set out their views on the current state of the market, the regulatory landscape and the shift to lower-carbon fuels.

The shipping company representatives discussed the range of alternative fuels and energy-saving technologies currently on the table for the industry, the geopolitical situation in the US, China, Middle East and Black Sea, and how regulations from the EU and IMO are changing how shipowners operate. Star Bulk’s Nicos Rescos suggested that while his company was supportive of the shift to ammonia, that market might take as much as a decade to develop.

In the supplier panel, Bunker Holding’s Keld Demant talked of the need for bunkering firms to act as demand aggregators for the producers of alternative fuels like methanol, gathering more regular buyers together than the producers would be able to alone. Kenneth Dam of TFG Marine set out the complexity of the emerging biofuel bunker market, saying a range of unconventional feedstocks will emerge and that buyers should not expect the relative simplicity of the conventional bunker market to be recreated for this alternative fuel.

The second day opened with a group of longstanding bunker quality experts discussing current topics affecting marine fuel quality. The group expressed positive sentiments about the recently published new edition of the ISO 8217 bunker specifications, and set out their hope that the new specifications will find demand in the marketplace more quickly than was the case for previous updates.

Another panel then discussed sustainability, digitalisation and training as significant issues facing the industry, pointing out that each of these issues is interlinked and all will need to be addressed simultaneously.

A presentation from the Marine Anti-Corruption Network addressed some of the compliance risks facing shipping and bunkering, and how this aspect of the business is becoming more complex over time.

And the final panel of the conference brought in a range of experts on the local market in the Mediterranean, discussing the upcoming ECA, how the region will cope with GHG regulations from the EU and how availability of alternative fuels is being rolled out as demand increases.

Wider Discussions

Discussions around the sidelines of the event were largely focused on decarbonisation, with this theme now becoming much more of a reality than a theoretical topic as European regulations start to charge the shipping industry for its carbon emissions.

The central theme for now is the shift to biofuel blends. These drop-in alternative fuels have now taken on a significant share of demand at both Rotterdam and Singapore as the EU-ETS and upcoming FuelEU Maritime regulations incentivise their use, and supply is in the process of being set up on a smaller-scale basis at most leading European ports.

The main concern is that supply will not keep up with this growing demand. Other industries – chiefly aviation – are increasingly keen to get their hands on limited biofuel supplies, and the shipping and bunker industries will need to become more creative in seeing which less popular bio feedstocks can be blended into marine fuels while remaining safe and working correctly in marine engines.

LNG has equally taken on an established position in the bunker industry, being discussed much more as a central element of bunker demand rather than a niche alternative.

Methanol as a bunker fuel was also further up the agenda than in previous years, with several suppliers represented at the convention now preparing to engage in this business and contemplating how to achieve that while maintaining profitability.

Ammonia was still being discussed as a more distant prospect – one delegate suggested a commercialised ammonia bunker market may still be 8-10 years away – but few doubted it would take its place in the marine energy mix before long.

The main event started on the morning after the US elections, and while the US ambassador’s speech steered clear of a detailed analysis of the new administration’s impact on shipping and bunkering, convention delegates took a keen interest in the topic in their discussions. The main concern was over the potential impact of tariffs on demand for shipping, while views differed on whether the effect of a change in foreign policy on the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East would be likely to be positive or negative for the industry.

Further Collaboration to Come

The spirit of cooperation and shared expertise was great throughout the event, with IBIA’s commitment to facilitating dialogue across the entire maritime and energy ecosystem further solidified. As delegates return to their respective corners of the globe, it’s clear that the collaboration seen in Athens will be essential in navigating the coming years.

Looking forward, the next IBIA Convention promises to be another opportunity to dive deeper into the industry’s most pressing issues and continue the momentum of positive change. With biofuels, alternative fuels, and regulatory frameworks at the forefront, the maritime sector has much to tackle — but with the continued collaboration fostered at IBIA, the road ahead remains one of opportunity, not just challenge.

Stay tuned for the next IBIA Annual Convention, as we continue to work together to shape the future of maritime fuels and decarbonisation. See you soon!