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IMO2020 – How long will majors and refiners be able to bear the credit heat?

‘Huge opportunity’ for oil majors and refiners to return to being a force in retail bunkering, suggests Infospectrum.
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Shipping and commodity sector due diligence, credit reporting and risk management consultancy firm Infospectrum in September published an article originally titled ‘IMO2020 – How long will majors and refiners be able to bear the credit heat?’ The article has been shared with Manifold Times:

When many of us started our careers in risk management, bunkering was comprised of oil majors with active retail bunkering arms, dealing with a relatively small number of well known owners and operators, with the remainder mopped up by the original independent bunker traders, who were prepared to leverage their knowledge and appetite for risk (plus hands-on risk managers) to make margins from this riskier "excess". Subsequent spin offs from this core have all sought to use greater access to information or relationships to emerge into an increasingly complex sector, with all the major independents dipping their toes into this market (to varying degrees of success), and numerous nimble (and occasionally fly-by-night) traders entering and leaving the market over the last 20 years; bunker buyers have welcomed this extra competition, and margins in bunkering have narrowed as a result – at times to almost unsustainable levels.

Market participants have reacted in different ways to these very limited returns, and occasionally higher risks, on offer. Oil majors have tended to concentrate on wholesale sales to large-scale and what they regard as lower-risk enterprises, reducing the "hands on" nature of their risk management accordingly (some even folding marine fuels into their trading arms, whose risk appetite is based around very different models and security).  Independents have, in turn, invested heavily in maximising their information and liquidity advantage, seeking to trade around the risk premium offered by lower-grade credit. As a result, the bunkering playing field has shifted; while oil majors and national oil companies continue to sell the highest volumes of bunkers, the retail market is now dominated by independent traders such as World Fuel Services Corp, the Bunker Holding group, Peninsula Petroleum Ltd and OceanConnect Marine.

The impact of IMO 2020

Multiple reports have suggested that the imposition of IMO2020 regulations may change this model, with oil majors (and, to a lesser extent, refiners) seeking to leverage their access to Very Low Sulphur Fuel Oil to recover market share in bunkering retail. ExxonMobil, Shell, Total and BP have all announced significant investments in increasing refining capacity of VLSFO/ULSFO, increasing exposure to physical supply in key locations such as ARA, Fujairah, US Gulf and Singapore, and some even patenting the make-up of the fuel itself, and expanding bunker sales teams. Independent refiners have also sought to market their product directly to retail buyers. While such investments have caused concern amongst existing market participants, we have seen limited evidence that this expansion is being matched with an increased appetite for credit risk. 

While oil majors and major independents have always used the marine fuel sector as a key factor of their fuel oil trading strategies (liner companies being particular beneficiaries of this strategy, despite their own risks), their perceived lack of appetite for risk in what is an increasingly complex and compliance-heavy sector is likely to be self-limiting. Will sufficient demand be generated by sufficiently transparent owners and operators? Indeed, some major refiners are already understood to be seeking assistance from traders in selling volumes that are not already allocated to key clients. 

What next?

This situation is reminiscent of moves by banks/financiers to move into the physical and derivative freight markets in the heady conditions of the early 2000s – fine in theory, but more difficult to execute in practice; having traders grinding their teeth about an onboarding process utterly unsuited to the shipping markets (in terms of demands and timescale), isn't good for business growth or employee/client retention.

At our Forum in London last week, we speculated on how long it would take majors to bump up against their internal appetite for risk in the marine sector, and market conditions returning to the current "norm" of independents holding significant retail market share. Feedback suggested it would take no more than one or two years. With prices expected to be higher, and risks more complex, recapturing any lost market share will depend on the financial resources and intelligence of the independents concerned (witness the recent departures of smaller and/or financially stretched participants from the Singapore bunkering market). Top-quality research, and the accurate pricing of risk, will be a key factor in reestablishing these norms (or, conversely, allowing the majors to grow their share in the market).

Source: Infospectrum
Published: 8 October, 2019
 

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Winding up

Singapore: Liquidators of Nan Ho Maritime, Nan Xin Maritime issue notices of dividend

Nan Ho Maritime’s second interim dividend and Nan Xin Maritime’s second and final dividend are payable from 4 September, according to Government Gazette notices.
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September 7, 2026

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Notices of dividend for Nan Ho Maritime Pte Ltd and Nan Xin Maritime Pte Ltd, which are currently in creditors’ voluntary liquidation, were published on the Government Gazette on Friday (4 September). 

The following are the details of the notice for Nan Ho Maritime:

Name of Company : Nan Ho Maritime (Pte.) Ltd. (In Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation)
Unique Entity No. / Registration No. : 200814315C
Address of Former Registered Office : 21 Bukit Batok Crescent, #22-70 WCEGA Tower, Singapore 658065
Amount per centum : 2.305 per centum of all admitted ordinary claims
First and Final or otherwise : Second interim dividend
When Payable : 4 September 2026 onwards
Where Payable : c/o AAG Corporate Advisory Pte. Ltd., 11 Collyer Quay, #07-02 The Arcade, Singapore 049317

The following are the details of the notice for Nan Xin Maritime:

Name of Company : Nan Xin Maritime (Pte.) Ltd. (In Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation)
Unique Entity No. / Registration No. : 201701966W
Address of Former Registered Office : 21 Bukit Batok Crescent, #22-70 WCEGA Tower, Singapore 658065
Amount per centum : 3.980 per centum of all admitted ordinary claims
First and Final or otherwise : Second and final dividend
When Payable : 4th day of September 2026 onwards
Where Payable : c/o AAG Corporate Advisory Pte. Ltd., 11 Collyer Quay, #07-02 The Arcade, Singapore 049317

 

Photo credit: Benjamin Child
Published: 7 September, 2026

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LNG Bunkering

Singapore-based EPS takes delivery of three LNG dual-fuel bulk carriers

Three vessels are the third, fourth and fifth in the company’s series of 14 Newcastlemaxes being built at the yard, and were delivered five months ahead of their contracted delivery dates.
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September 7, 2026

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Singapore-based Eastern Pacific Shipping (EPS) on Friday (4 September) announced the naming and delivery of three new LNG dual-fuel Newcastlemax bulk carriers from China’s Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding. 

Cyril Ducau, CEO of EPS, said the vessels were named Mount Victoria, Mount Yulong and Mount Wuyi. 

The three vessels are the third, fourth and fifth in the company’s series of 14 Newcastlemaxes being built at the yard, and were delivered five months ahead of their contracted delivery dates.

“A big thank you to CSSC Group and Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding, working alongside our EPS team, for the tremendous collaboration and commitment behind this achievement,” Ducau said in a social media post.  

 

Photo credit: Eastern Pacific Shipping
Published: 7 September, 2026

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Port & Regulatory

ISWG-GHG 22: IMO working group aims to present NZF text at MEPC 85

The Chair expressed his observation of a genuine willingness within the Group to make concrete further progress at the next ISWG-GHG meeting and work towards presenting text to MEPC 85.
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September 7, 2026

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The Intersessional Working Group on Reduction of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions from Ships (ISWG-GHG 22) met for its 22nd meeting from 1 to 4 September 2026, chaired by Mr. Sveinung Oftedal (Norway), according to the International Maritime Organization on Friday (4 September). 

According to a meeting summary by IMO, the meeting had a high level of participation, with nearly 1200 registered participants, in person and online.

During the meeting participants considered the following agenda items:

Consideration of proposals, including documents submitted to MEPC 84 and 85, previous sessions of ISWG-GHG, as well as documents submitted to ISWG-GHG 22, on how to address concerns with the draft amendments to MARPOL Annex VI on the Net-Zero Framework, in line with the 2023 IMO GHG Strategy

Following constructive discussions, the Chair expressed his observation of a genuine willingness within the Group to make concrete further progress at the next ISWG-GHG meeting and work towards presenting text to MEPC 85 that adequately addresses the noted progress made in the consideration of proposals on how to address concerns raised regarding the draft amendments to MARPOL Annex VI on the mid-term measure.

The Group invited interested delegations to continue to consult intersessionally to address remaining concerns with the draft amendments to MARPOL Annex VI, in line with the 2023 IMO GHG Strategy, taking into account views expressed at the Group’s session, with a view to submitting concrete proposals reflecting enhanced convergence allowing timely adoption and effective implementation.

Further consideration of the draft guidelines supporting the uniform and effective implementation of IMO’s mid-term measures.

The Group held a preliminary exchange of views on this agenda item, although time became a limiting factor and the Group and agreed to defer the consideration of all documents submitted to this session under this agenda item to ISWG-GHG 23 (23-27 November 2026).

Further consideration of the development of the IMO Life Cycle GHG Assessment (LCA) framework.

Due to time constraints, the Group was not able to consider the agenda item related to the IMO Life Cycle GHG Assessment (LCA) framework. The Group deferred the consideration of those documents to ISWG-GHG 23, in conjunction with the report of the fourth meeting of the GESAMP-LCA Working Group expected to be submitted to MEPC 85.

Next steps

The next meeting of the Intersessional Working Group on Reduction of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions from Ships (ISWG-GHG 23) is scheduled for 23 to 27 November 2026, ahead of MEPC 85 (30 November to 3 December).

The second extraordinary session of MEPC (adjourned last October) is scheduled to resume on 4 December, subject to discussions at MEPC 85.

 

Photo credit: International Maritime Organization
Published: 7 September, 2026

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