In a bid to address this and contribute meaningfully, IBIA has stated its ambition to actively work for effective bunker licensing schemes, preferably introducing mandatory massflow meters (MFM), to be implemented in bunker hubs around the world. This would, we believe, improve market conditions by reducing the scope for malpractice and create a more transparent and level-playing field in the marine fuel sector.

Does the industry agree? This is what the survey aims to establish.

During 2021, we formed the IBIA Bunker Licensing & MFM Working Group (WG) to drive forward the work in identifying key elements of bunker licensing programs, chaired with great skill by Alexander Prokopakis, the CEO of probunkers. In addition to IBIA members, BIMCO has taken part in this working group and supports this initiative.

This WG has put together a carefully crafted survey to identify industry experiences with quantity and quality issues, and assess opinions among industry stakeholders about the impact of introducing bunker licensing programmes and MFMs.