Long-term partners BunkerEx and ZeroNorth on Wednesday (1 September) announced the companies are now offering bunker price transparency in ZeroNorth’s platform, Optimise.
Price transparency is tagged as one of the leading problems in the bunker market. Yet with a number of shipping companies now promoting increased transparency and awareness of fuel pricing using a range of algorithms, it can be challenging to identify the right data source.
With robust data from BunkerEx integrated into ZeroNorth’s intuitive platform, customers will be able to gain greater insights into bunker fuel pricing and unlock clearer, more informed decision-making. This enhances the power of Optimise for users, and keeps invaluable data in a single location on a vessel and fleet level.
BunkerEx, recently acquired by Shipping and Trading group USTC, has been at the forefront of providing reliable fuel price data since its launch in 2017. The company now observes over 2,000 marine fuel prices per day, systematically processed every few minutes to publish what it calls a ‘true price’ in every port for both the spot and forward physical markets.
With growth in worldwide data expected to triple between 2020-2025, the marine fuel market is no different. At inception, BunkerEx was processing just 150 prices per day. Cumulatively the company has now analysed over 1.3 million price points each tied to a specific time, port, fuel grade and Brent reference.
The algorithms that decipher all this data took over a year to develop with complications around alternate names, multiple time zones, different pricing methodologies per port and a changing supplier landscape all challenges that had to be overcome and coded. Every data point is fused in real-time with oil derivatives, credit ratings, nearby ports, freight prices (FFAs) and alternative datasets such as weather patterns. The result is an increase in both accuracy and coverage of bunker ports.
Whilst shipping has traditionally been secretive, ZeroNorth and BunkerEx believe that collaboration is vital to realise gains in efficiency that have both economic and environmental benefits.
BunkerEx and ZeroNorth have been in working alongside one another as strategic partners since ZeroNorth’s inception, with BunkerEx providing its data to Optimise to unlock advanced vessel insights.
Ishaan Hemnani, Founder and CEO of BunkerEx said about the partnership: “Since inception, we structured all systems with data sharing in mind, whether it’s via our streamlined API or direct integrations with innovative providers like ZeroNorth. Their mission to reduce emissions through vessel optimisation is key to a greener future, and we’re happy to play our part towards that goal.”
Lora Jakobsen, Chief Purpose Activist, ZeroNorth, said: “Greater understanding and transparency of bunker pricing is key to shipping’s decarbonisation journey. Only through accurate and informed data can operators make effective decisions for their fleet and operations to help reduce their CO2 emissions. BunkerEx has long been a trusted and valued partner of ZeroNorth’s, and we’re pleased to have their robust data into Optimise to power considered and meaningful decision-making.
“ZeroNorth’s Optimise provides insight into voyage optimisation and determines the optimal speed of each vessel to maximise operational efficiency. Optimise provide owners and operators with actionable insights to enhance their vessel performance, improve their TCE earnings and reduce CO2 emissions.”
Photo credit: william william from Unsplash
Published: 2 September, 2021
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