Marine fuels
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Latest marine fuels news
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Plaza Marine alleges Ankora used company secrets
Plaza Marine alleges Ankora used company secrets
New York, 6 September (Argus) — New Jersey-based marine fuel supplier Plaza Marine is suing another supplier, Ankora Fuels, alleging that two former Plaza Marine employees used company trade secrets to benefit a rival company and to compete in the same market. Plaza Marine alleges that the two ex-employees, John and Zachary Barbarise, used its trade secrets, confidential information, customer, and supplier relationships to conduct business that is virtually identical to Plaza Marine, according to the suit filed last month in US District Court for the District of New Jersey. John Barbarise was vice president of sales and trading at Plaza Marine until May 2023 and Zachary Barbarise was an operations manager until July 2024. Both individuals are listed as defendants in the suit in addition to Ankora Fuels. According to the lawsuit, John and Zachary's positions at Plaza Marine gave them access to proprietary information about Plaza Marine's business including contracts with its customers, supplier lists and long-term planning like price strategies for its customers. Plaza Marine alleges that John and Zachary used this information to attempt to "clone" Plaza Marine including chartering a vessel that is a long-term vendor of the company and creating a pricing methodology that is like Plaza Marine. This has created confusion in the marine fuel market, according to Plaza Marine. "By creating a competing company engaged in virtually the same activities as Plaza Marine, it is inevitable that John and Zachary will necessarily use and disclose Plaza Marine's trade secrets for their own personal gain and to create an unfair competitive advantage for Ankora," the company said in the suit. According to the lawsuit, prior to resigning from Plaza Marine, Zachary allegedly contacted John on multiple occasions and accessed files related to Plaza Marine's customers, including once after an internal meeting that discussed confidential information related to its customers and suppliers. Zachary also allegedly created Google document files on a personal device and copied and pasted Plaza Marine's trade secrets into that file prior to departing from the company. Plaza Marine alleges that Zachary was passing along this confidential information to John for use at Ankora. Ankora said the allegations are "completely baseless" and that John and Zachary have never taken any information from Plaza Marine. The company said that Zachary has never worked for Ankora and the Google sheets Plaza Marine allegedly found in Zachary's computer were files "for a fantasy football draft and an ultimate fighting championship contest." "The simple truth is Plaza Marine does not want to face competition from a new player in its space. Plaza Marine wants to continue to mistreat customers and other business partners by blocking Ankora Fuels' entry into the market. That's why Plaza Marine has filed this baseless lawsuit. Plain and simple. We are confident that our customers will see the same, and that they will realize – if they haven't already – that Plaza Marine is not a good partner for their businesses," Ankora said. By Luis Gronda Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Idemitsu completes biofuel trial for bunkering vessels
Idemitsu completes biofuel trial for bunkering vessels
Tokyo, 5 September (Argus) — Japanese refiner Idemitsu has completed a test of mixed biofuel using fatty acid methyl ester (Fame) for bunkering vessels in the Hokkaido area ahead of commercial use. Idemitsu carried out a trial for 10 months starting in September 2023, using a 24pc Fame mixture of used cooking oil collected from convenience stores in Hokkaido with existing marine fuel oil. The mixed biofuel can be used in the same applications as existing marine fuel oil without any changes to equipment specifications or operating conditions in cold climates, Idemitsu said. Mixed biofuel is able to cut 20pc of carbon dioxide compared with existing marine fuel oil. But there has been difficulty in using it in sub-zero temperatures, which results in solidification and oxidation. Idemitsu will increase use of the bio-mixed marine fuel to areas other than Hokkaido, in its effort to achieve the country's 2050 decarbonisation goal. By Reina Maeda Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Tight Singapore VLSFO supplies lift bunker prices
Tight Singapore VLSFO supplies lift bunker prices
Singapore, 28 August (Argus) — Bunker prices for very-low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) at the port of Singapore rallied in end-August, bolstered by tight supplies and steady gains in Ice Brent Singapore crude futures. The VLSFO prices rose by 4.7pc on the day and 3.5pc on the year to $656/t on a delivered on board (dob) basis on 27 August, as tight spot availability for the first half of September lifted fuel premiums. Singapore's VLSFO bunker prices were last assessed higher at $668.50/t dob on 30 January. Prices for prompt seven days' laycan versus mid-September delivery for VLSFO saw a backwardation of $25/t as limited barges and tight VLSFO supplies pushed prices higher. Prices for the next seven days' laycan were assessed at about $670-680/t on a dob basis in Singapore, while deliveries for mid-September were indicated at around $645-655/t dob basis. Limited blendstock components and stronger Chinese import demand have led to a near-term VLSFO supply crunch and supported increases in Singapore cargo prices from late August. Furthermore, domestic Chinese refineries reduced run rates because of limited VLSFO export quotas , resulting in higher VLSFO bunker prices in China and increased demand for imported fuel to meet domestic bunkering requirements. Meanwhile, limited VLSFO cargo availability, coupled with delays in loading at the port of Singapore, have raised VLSFO premiums on an ex-wharf and delivered basis over the past week. Delays in VLSFO cargo deliveries and delayed loadings at port terminals forced buyers to pay a premium for VLSFO bunker fuel delivered before 10-15 September, one trader said. "Zhoushan is much cheaper than Singapore so demand is moving there," another trader said, adding that some Singapore-based suppliers expect tight spot availability until October, overturning earlier expectations of limited availability until mid-September. Singapore's scrubber-spread — the price difference between VLSFO and high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) for bunkering — has widened to almost a six-month high of $174/t on 27 August because of the current rally in VLSFO prices. The scrubber spread is a key indicator of margins for bunker buyers with exhaust scrubber systems installed on their ships. A wider scrubber-spread would reflect higher cost savings while maintaining low carbon emissions when using HSFO instead of VLSFO for refuelling vessels. The tight supply of VLSFO also impacted the marine biodiesel market, with B24 prices in Singapore rising to $732.5/t on a dob basis at the close of 27 August, an increase of $35/t compared with the level on 20 August. By Cassia Teo Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
IMO 2040 CO2 goals unmet under base case: ABS
IMO 2040 CO2 goals unmet under base case: ABS
New York, 27 August (Argus) — The shipping industry will not meet the International Maritime Organization (IMO) goal for reducing CO2 emissions by 2040 without hastening the expected pace of vessel replacements, a study by vessel classification organization American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) concluded. IMO calls for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20pc by 2030, by at least 70pc by 2040, and to net zero by 2050, compared with 2008 base levels. Under a base case scenario, a 20pc reduction in CO2-equivalent emissions by 2030 is achievable on a full lifecycle basis, but a 70pc percent reduction by 2040 is not, ABS said. Under the best case scenario examined by ABS, achieving IMO's 70pc target would require a significantly faster renewal of the vessel fleet to replace oil-fueled vessels or a higher degree of vessel retrofitting. The three biggest categories of bunker consuming vessels — tankers, dry bulk carriers and container ships — are expected to follow a similar trajectory for marine fuel demand under the base case scenario, with conventional marine fuel accounting for more than 60pc of demand through 2035, ABS said. Conventional fuel demand would decline to 38-44pc of marine fuel demand in the first half of the 2040s in the base case, ABS predicted. Methanol in that period would grow to about 35pc of marine fuel demand for tankers and container ships and about 22pc for dry bulk carriers. Ammonia and hydrogen demand would grow to about 13pc of tankers' marine fuel demand, 18pc of dry bulk carriers' demand and about 14pc of container ships' demand. LNG across the three vessel categories is expected at 4-6pc of bunkering demand in the early 2040s, with biodiesel at 5-9pc of demand. By Stefka Wechsler Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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