Alternative Fuels

McKinsey & Company: How to transform your shipping company

Digital tools can help to identify trends, optimise crewing spend and the overall procurement envelope, and streamline repair, maintenance, port, drydocking, and bunkering costs.

Published

4 years ago

January 3, 2023

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Global management consulting firm McKinsey & Company on Thursday (1 December) published an article on how digitalisation can help the shipping industry cope with uncertainties and help streamline bunkering costs. The following are excerpts from the article:

Players in most shipping subsectors have enjoyed a profitable couple of years. However, the industry faces a complex, rapidly changing environment. Macro uncertainties—the threat of recession, geopolitical volatility, crew shortages, escalation of operational costs, and fluctuations in cargo demand—affect all aspects of operations. In addition, there is increased environmental regulation to get to grips with, and much uncertainty around decarbonisation pathways.

Crucially, the shipping industry lags behind in digitisation, a key enabler for prompt decision making, operational and cost efficiencies, and improved performance. This article introduces a transformation framework to help shipping companies navigate these choppy waters. In particular, it explores how data and analytics can be leveraged to gain competitive advantage and unlock value.

Cost optimisation

Cost-optimisation levers can be enabled by collecting and analysing data and building digital applications to inform decision making. Digital tools can help to identify trends, optimise crewing spend and the overall procurement envelope (spares, stores, provisions), and streamline repair, maintenance, port, drydocking, and bunkering costs.

Client experience has shown that various levers can improve cost performance in specific areas of shipping:

Crewing: Shipowners could leverage analytical tools to identify the right talent, improve ship-to-shore communications, and revamp safety- and quality-assurance procedures. Data tools could aid in optimising factors such as crew remuneration, number of crew onboard, nationality mix, medical claims and welfare, travel scheduling, training, and recruiting.

Procurement: A spend-intelligence dashboard could provide real-time insights and transparency. Further, digital tools could standardise the procurement process, define supplier-specific strategy, consolidate purchases, and reduce unplanned spend.

Shipping companies that rely on manual processes often struggle to track their expenditure by supplier, location, or even product or service type. This can cause a lack of comprehensive planning of purchases such as spare parts. Suppliers cannot be selected in a systematic way, and companies miss out on volume discounts and delivery-pool savings. They may also incur higher operating expenses with emergency procurement and repairs.

Such companies could invest in technology that provides digital dashboards. Here, real-time insights and analysis across key metrics can be accessed easily. Spend details can be sorted by type, category or organisation, and details made instantly available by clicking on a specific deep-dive area (Exhibit 5).

Dry docking: Digital solutions are now available to optimise dry-docking processes and ensure full transparency. These can help to standardise processes, gain greater negotiation power with suppliers, optimise timing and location, pool vessels to benefit from scale and synergies, and increase the vendor pool.

Bunkering: Digital techniques can be used to implement vessel upgrades, find optimal bunkering locations, obtain better bunkering bids, execute hedging strategy, and review vendor contracts.

Consumption can be reduced with optimised vessel execution and performance-management mechanisms. For example, one shipping operator was looking to optimise varying fuel consumption. However, fuel and emission data were lacking. There was also a lack of transparency about captains’ voyage decisions, and no comparisons of their performance. The solution was the installation of a new data interface between vessels and central IT. This created transparency around key levers, such as speed, slip, trim, and fuel type, and leveraged automatic identification systems (AIS) and weather data for route mapping and fuel-type usage. A dashboard was developed to report key metrics to fleet operations and captains (Exhibit 6).

Note: The full article titled “How to transform your shipping company” can be found here.

Photo credit: Chris Pagan on Unsplash / McKinsey & Company
Published: 3 January, 2022

Bunker Fuel

Singapore: Bunker fuel sales down by 3.8% on year in July 2026

4.73 million mt of various marine fuel grades were delivered at the world’s largest bunkering port in July, up from 4.92 million mt recorded during the similar month in 2025.

Published

38 minutes ago

August 17, 2026

Admin

Singapore: Bunker fuel sales down by 3.8% on year in July 2026

Sales of marine fuel at Singapore port fell by 3.8% on year in July 2026, according to data from the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA).

In total, 4.73 million metric tonnes (mt) (exact 4,731,900 mt) of various marine fuel grades were delivered at the world’s largest bunkering port in July, up from 4.92 million mt (4,918,000 mt) recorded during the similar month in 2025.

Deliveries of marine fuel oil, low sulphur fuel oil, ultra low sulphur fuel oil, marine gas oil and marine diesel oil in July (against on year) recorded respectively 1.95 million mt (zero from 1.95 million mt), 2.33 million mt (-2.1% from 2.38 million mt), 1,600 mt (+100% from zero), 700 mt (-82% from 3,900 mt) and zero (from zero).

Singapore: Bunker fuel sales down by 3.8% on year in July 2026

Bio-blended variants of marine fuel oil, low sulphur fuel oil, ultra low sulphur fuel oil, marine gas oil and marine diesel oil in July, (against on year) recorded respectively 8,200 mt (-83.7% from 50,300 mt), 29,900 mt (-62.9% from 80,500 mt), zero (from zero), zero (from zero) and zero (from zero). B100 biofuel bunkers, introduced in February last year, recorded 1,400 mt (-46.2% from 2,600 mt).

LNG and methanol sales were 58,700 mt (+41.4% from 41,500 mt) and zero (from zero) respectively. There were no recorded sales of ammonia for the month and so far since 2025.

Photo credit: Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore
Published: 17 August, 2026

Alternative Fuels

Ammonia, methanol bunkering workshops to be held at 13th Singapore Safety@Sea Week

Three workshops on ammonia bunkering, methanol bunkering, and crew safety awareness are part of MPA’s Safety@Sea Week, which will be held from 17 to 21 August.

Published

42 minutes ago

August 17, 2026

Admin

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), together with industry partners, on Monday (17 August) launched several new initiatives to enhance maritime safety.

Announced at the opening of the 13th Singapore Safety@Sea Week, these initiatives will support shared learning, strengthen operational capabilities, and prepare the industry for the safe adoption of new technologies.

Organised by MPA from 17 to 21 August, this year’s Safety@Sea Week is themed “All Hands on Deck – Safety First!”. About 1,500 participants from across the maritime community are expected to take part in 18 events organised by MPA and its partners.

These include the Safety@Sea Symposium, featuring seven speakers across two panel sessions, and three workshops on ammonia bunkering, methanol bunkering, and crew safety awareness.

Speaking at the opening, Mr Murali Pillai, Senior Minister of State for Law and Transport, highlighted three priorities for strengthening maritime safety: harnessing technology responsibly, preparing early for emerging risks, and keeping people at the centre of safety. He also underscored the importance of strong partnerships across the maritime community in building a strong safety culture.

At the opening of Safety@Sea Week, the National Maritime Safety at Sea Council and the Singapore Shipping Association launched the Singapore Near Miss Reporting System to encourage the reporting and sharing of lessons from near miss incidents.

Modelled on the internationally recognised Confidential Human Factors Incident Reporting Programme (CHIRP), the system provides sea space users with a confidential online channel to report near misses. CHIRP will independently receive the submissions and provide anonymised information to the Council, which will distil key safety lessons for sharing with the wider maritime community.

Note: More information about the event can be found here.

Photo credit: Peter Nguyen on Unsplash
Published: 17 August, 2026

Alternative Fuels

China: SIPG Energy completes first simultaneous two-vessel, two-fuel green bunkering operation

SIPG Energy says the simultaneous LNG and bio-methanol bunkering operations demonstrate Shanghai Port’s expanding capability to supply multiple green marine fuels at anchorage.

Published

45 minutes ago

August 17, 2026

Admin

Shanghai port completes first simultaneous two-vessel, two-fuel green bunkering operation

SIPG Energy (Shanghai) Co Ltd (SIPG Energy) on Sunday (16 August) completed what it described as China’s first simultaneous two-vessel bunkering operation involving two different green marine fuels at anchorage, supplying LNG and bio-methanol to two vessels.

The company’s LNG bunkering vessel Hai Gang Wei Lai supplied LNG to PIL’s KOTA ELAN, while methanol bunkering vessel Hai Gang Zhi Yuan supplied domestically produced biomass-based methanol to CMA CGM’s dual-fuel container ship CMA CGM OSMIUM.

According to SIPG Energy, the two bunkering operations were carried out simultaneously and safely, highlighting Shanghai Port’s growing ability to provide diversified and large-scale green-fuel bunkering services at anchorage.

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The operation required enhanced coordination in safety management, resource allocation and emergency response. Shanghai Maritime Safety Administration, Shanghai Customs and Shanghai General Station of Immigration Inspection, along with other supporting organisations, provided regulatory guidance and operational support.

“The combined efforts of all parties significantly improved the efficiency of bunkering at anchorage,” the company said.

The company said it will continue to expand its safe bunkering capabilities for bio-methanol, LNG and other green marine fuels, while broadening its fuel supply portfolio and service scenarios to support the shipping industry’s transition to lower-carbon marine fuels.

Photo credit: SIPG Energy
Published: 17 August, 2026