A Strong Start To 2026

Bringing the global bunkering community together through connection, insight and shared progress

As always, the first quarter of the year has been both busy and energising for IBIA, with a calendar defined by meaningful engagement and strong global participation.

We began the year with our premier event, the IBIA Annual Dinner, held in February at Grosvenor House London. Once again, the event was fully sold out – marking the fourth consecutive year at capacity – and welcomed over 1,200 industry professionals from across the global marine fuels value chain. The atmosphere in the room reflected not only the scale of the event, but the strength and resilience of our community.

This flagship evening would not be possible without the continued support of our sponsors. We extend our sincere thanks to our Platinum Sponsor, The Hawks PVT; Gold Sponsors Arte Bunkering, Island Oil Limited, PEMA Corporation, Sea Crown Marine Services DMCC and Sohar Port & Freezone; Silver Sponsors ExxonMobil, Gulf Petrol Supplies and the Port Authority of Santa Cruz de Tenerife; and our Advertising Sponsors Asmira Petrol, DrumoCoin, StormGeo and the Turkish Chamber of Shipping. Their contributions are integral to the success and continued growth of this event.

The evening’s programme featured reflections and insights from IBIA’s leadership, including Executive Director Alexander Prokopakis, Chair Constantinos Capetanakis, and Adrian Tolson, who formally stepped into the role of Chair on 1 April. We were also honoured to welcome IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez as Guest of Honour, whose address called for greater alignment and collaboration across the industry at a time of increasing complexity and change.

In March, IBIA continued its engagement at CMA Shipping 2026 in Stamford, Connecticut. Alongside our participation in the conference programme, we hosted a well-attended networking drinks reception, bringing together around 150 industry guests. The evening provided a valuable opportunity to reconnect with colleagues and strengthen relationships across the Americas region.

We are grateful to our event sponsors – 2050 Marine Energy, CSL Group Inc., Evans Advisory LLC, GT Global, Lindsay Blee, Monjasa and Sunoco LP – whose support enabled us to deliver another successful and welcoming gathering.

IBIA was also strongly represented across the CMA Shipping conference programme. Executive Director Alexander Prokopakis contributed to the keynote panel “Maritime Horizons: Industry Landscape and Global Trade Priorities”, while Adrian Tolson participated in the keynote session examining geopolitical impacts on US shipping and moderated the IBIA Forum panel “Next-Gen Fuels: Charting Shipping’s Low-Carbon Future”. We were also pleased to see engagement from our Regional Board Americas Chair, Frank Dahan, further reinforcing IBIA’s role in shaping key industry discussions.

Continuing this momentum, IBIA recently convened a Members Meeting focused on Geopolitical Developments and Market Implications. Moderated by Chair Constantinos Capetanakis, the session brought together expert insights from Arne Lohmann Rasmussen of Global Risk Management and Christopher Aversano of Wood Mackenzie. The discussion explored how geopolitical tensions, sanctions, tariffs and regional instability are influencing shipping, energy markets and marine fuel supply chains – a timely and important conversation for our members.

Looking ahead, we are pleased to announce our upcoming IBIA Posidonia Reception, taking place on 31 May 2026 in Athens. We are honoured that South Africa’s Ambassador to the Hellenic Republic, Dr Lindiwe Msengana-Ndlela, will host the evening at the South African Official Residence. This exclusive cocktail reception will bring together IBIA members, partners and senior leaders from across the global marine fuels and maritime sectors for an elegant evening of connection and conversation.

And finally, in what is very special news for our community, we are proud to announce that the IBIA Annual Convention 2026 will take place in New York from 10–12 November.

As our flagship global event returns to the United States, this moment represents more than a change in location. It reflects where conversations are heading, where markets are evolving, and where new opportunities are emerging. Bringing our international community to one of the world’s most dynamic commercial hubs underscores the importance of connection, insight and forward-thinking dialogue.

From senior decision-makers to technical experts, the IBIA Annual Convention remains the industry’s leading platform for collaboration. In 2026, we look forward to delivering a programme that is globally relevant, commercially grounded and future-focused.

To close, I would encourage both our members and the wider industry to keep an eye out for our bi-monthly IBIA Bulletin, our electronic newsletter where we share updates across all of our activities, including highlights from past events and details of what is coming next.

As always, your engagement is at the heart of everything we do. You are very welcome to reach out to me directly at any time to explore opportunities within our events, or to share your thoughts and suggestions.

These conversations are invaluable as we continue to shape a programme that reflects the needs and ambitions of our global membership.

I look forward to continuing the dialogue in the months ahead.

Tahra Sergeant
Regional Manager (Africa) & Global Head, Events
tahra.sergeant@ibia.net