IBIA Annual Convention highlights: Keynote insights on decarbonisation, compliance, and industry progress
IBIA Chair Constantinos Capetanakis opened the IBIA Annual Convention by announcing the establishment of IBIA’s regional board for Europe, completing 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.
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 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. 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 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.
The Convention underscored the vital role of bunker and marine fuels in the shipping industry. With significant regulatory changes and operational adjustments on the horizon, staying informed has never been more critical. IBIA is committed to supporting our members and the industry through ongoing information sharing and collaboration.
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