Dutch authorities have reportedly given global commodity trading firm Gunvor permission to upgrade its Rotterdam refinery with a delayed coker unit without first conducting any environment assessments.
The delayed coker unit will allow the refinery to reprocess fuel oil material, traditionally used as bunker fuel, into cleaner products.
Gunvor, which has not yet committed to the upgrade, is considering the move due to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) decision to mandate the consumption of 0.5% sulphur limit bunker fuel by 2020.
“Gunvor is currently studying several options for how best to respond to the IMO decision,” Gunvor spokesman Seth Pietras told Reuters.
“We have not made any decision yet.”
According to Reuters, several oil majors including ExxonMobil and Total have already made investments to upgrade their refineries in preparation for the upcoming 2020 IMO regulation.
Gunvor acquired the Rotterdam refinery from Kuwait Petroleum Europoort in 1 February, 2016.
Published: 26 January, 2018
Covering basics or reaching for FONAR will no longer be enough when carriage ban kicks in, says representative.
Asia Pacific experts share views on what IMO 2020 means for the downstream, upstream, LNG and bulks sectors.
BDN shall now include a declaration of sulphur content signed and certified by the fuel oil supplier's representative.
In general, the Port of Singapore’s performance stood resilient throughout 2020 with bunker sales amounting to 49.8 million tonnes at a 5% year-on-year increase.
IMO to be notified of marine fuel suppliers delivering bunkers which fail to meet SOLAS requirements.
However, there are some steps that shipowners and charterers can take to prepare, says FD&D Deputy Director.
Buyers can nominate deliveries on platform and plan operations together with suppliers following ‘one single truth’ concept with all players aware of what has been agreed when and by whom, says DNV spokesman.
Rotterdam’s intention to mandate the usage of MFMs goes down well with licensed bunker supplier VT Group; MFM providers supportive of move but stressed continuous monitoring is needed for optimum performance.
Cost of alternative bunker fuels, bunker operations and technology advancement are some considerations to be examined by the maritime industry, says Neo, director of SDE International Pte Ltd.
Kim Hyung Joon and Han Donghoon were planning to join the Singapore entities of Hartree Group - either Hartree Partners Singapore Pte Ltd or Hartree Marine Fuels - in October, discovered management.
‘When you think of Helmsman on the next occasion, think of us as lawyers with expertise in various fields. Come to us before a problem develops. It’s the process that matters,’ says Tang Chong Jun, Executive Director.
Bernard Chew was a former shareholder of MB Marine and was an authorised signatory of the company’s cheques at the material time, according to court documents obtained by Manifold Times.
