Bunker Management

Why does Bunker Management matter to maritime shipping?

While bunkers refers to the marine fuel aboard a vessel, bunker management refers to the processes involved in procuring, tracking, and transferring that marine fuel. What makes bunker management especially important to commercial maritime shipping organizations are both its large relative cost when compared to vessel operations and its significant sustainability implications, particularly given the emissions produced by more traditional fuel types. How today’s commercial maritime shipping organizations address bunker management can make all the difference in their financial and environmental success.

With bunker management comes significant financial and environmental considerations—is your business equipped to address both?

When it comes to the money associated with commercial maritime shipping, bunkers can represent as much as 40-60% of a ship’s total operating costs.¹ That relative cost is no surprise when considering the modern prices of marine fuels. During the first half of 2021, for example, VLSFO averaged $533 per metric tonne, and that price has fluctuated all year with a spread of more than $115.²

In addition to their financial importance, marine fuels play a critical role in the future of global sustainability for the commercial maritime shipping industry. IMO 2050 has an aggressive goal of cutting emissions by 70% of what they were in 2008,³ and that means shipowners and operators have to make tough decisions about the fuels their vessels consume. Addressing both the financial and environmental aspects of the bunker management function requires the right information and tools.

40-
60%

Bunkers represent up to 40-60% of ships’ total operating costs.¹

17%

Maritime trade’s share of global emissions will reach 17% by 2050 if left unchecked.²

Enhancing

Negotiations & Procurement.

Far too many maritime shipping teams come to bunker negotiations with secondhand and outdated information. With index-linked workflows, real-time operational data, and a complete history of past procurements, stakeholders charged with bunker negotiation and procurement are fully empowered to seize the best opportunity.

Enabling

A Sustainable Future for Maritime.

As the future of sustainability through IMO 2030, 2040, and 2050 compliance looms large over maritime shipping, the right digital solution stands ready to support the full range of fuel types while considering the financial and environmental impact of each and every decision. As you increasingly consider sustainability in your bunker management workflows, your digital solution should be capable of supporting both short-term and long-term changes.

Connecting

Bunker Procurement to Your Enterprise Workflow.

Bogged down by burdensome email-based communications and even hand-written notes, the bunker procurement, swap, hedging, and negotiation processes are plagued by user error and a lack of timely information. By connecting your bunker management workflows to your commercial workflow and broader business, you can empower all stakeholders to make the best possible decisions with the greatest possible agility.

Treat Bunkers Like the Strategic Function It Is with the Veson IMOS Platform

Bunker management represents a critical function in any commercial maritime shipping organization. From bunker management’s integral role in executing voyages and moving cargoes to its broader implications for exposure, profitability, and even sustainability, no single element of seaborne trade has as much of an impact as the procurement and consumption of marine fuel.

At Veson, we recognize that bunkers are a strategic asset for your maritime shipping business. We also recognize that the inherent volatility of the bunker market presents significant risk for our clients, and we’ve designed and implemented connected, market-linked tools to measure position and, if needed, hedge against the exposure fluctuations in the bunker market. But in addition to their financial implications, bunker management decisions also have a sweeping environmental impact. Through inherent capabilities in our platform and intentional Platform Partnerships as part of our Veson Partner Network, we empower our customers to make decisions that consider both financial and environmental ramifications.

From supporting diverse fuel types to implementing bunker swaps, reporting on past transactions, and securing futures, we’re committed to offering our clients the tools they need to strengthen their bottom line and support the future of marine fuel sustainability.

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Elevating Bunker Management Workflows & Decisions, Together

Following is one of the Platform Partners with whom we form native product integrations that empower you to perform bunker management more profitably and sustainably.

Reduce Bunker Spend and Emissions with ZeroNorth

ZeroNorth’s voyage optimization software has been integrated with the Veson IMOS Platform (VIP) to help tramp shippers reduce bunker spend, cut CO2 emissions, and improve sustainability of their fleets by combining VIP fleet and vessel data with ZeroNorth’s comprehensive weather, port, and market data.

Read the Announcement

Align Chartering, Voyage, and Bunker Strategies with BunkerPlanner

VIP’s BunkerPlanner integration enables users to optimize their most complex and impactful voyage operations decisions by analyzing planning and execution processes based on up-to-date voyage itinerary and activity reporting data.

Read the Announcement