Shipergy, the technology-led marine fuels trading company, on Thursday (30 July) announced that it has signed what it believes to be the marine fuel industry’s first energy-adjusted procurement contract. 

Under the multi-year agreement, signed with a European operator, Shipergy procures and supplies marine fuels across the client’s fleet, with its performance formally benchmarked on the cost per unit of energy delivered, measured in dollars per gigajoule ($/GJ), rather than the industry’s traditional cost per tonne.

Shipergy said marine fuel has been bought and sold by the tonne since the industry began, but not all tonnes are equal. The energy content of fuel varies materially between suppliers in the same port, by as much as 5 to 7 per cent for VLSFO, meaning a cargo that looks cheaper on the headline market index can in fact cost more per unit of usable energy. Vessels bunkering lower energy fuel burn more of it to complete the same voyage, with direct consequences for cost, carbon emissions and regulatory compliance.

The new contract addresses this directly. For each covered port, a reference energy value is established from Energy Beacon data and agreed between the parties. Each quarter, Shipergy’s achieved cost of energy delivered, calculated from actual invoice values and laboratory-measured Net Calorific Value on every delivery, is compared against the energy-adjusted market benchmark. Where Shipergy delivers a demonstrated saving, the benefit is shared between the parties under a gain-share mechanism, fully aligning the interests of buyer and supplier for the first time in bunker procurement.

Supplier selection under the contract is driven by Energy Beacon, Shipergy’s proprietary analytics platform that predicts the energy content of marine fuel by supplier and port before purchase, and ranks firm offers on effective cost per megajoule rather than headline price per tonne. 

The platform has been independently validated by an external data scientist across more than 10,000 real production predictions spanning over 1,300 ports, demonstrating a 95 per cent confidence interval of just ±0.024 MJ/kg, equivalent to less than $0.30 per tonne of pricing uncertainty. Every prediction carries a confidence score, and the model is retrained monthly to stay calibrated as bio-blend prevalence and market conditions evolve.

The first stem under the contract, a marine gasoil delivery at a major North West European bunkering hub, was completed in July 2026. The delivery was covered by an independent survey verifying both quantity and quality, including laboratory testing of Net Calorific Value, allowing Energy Beacon’s predicted energy content to be validated directly against measured results. Supplier selection for the stem ran through the full Energy Beacon process: quality screening, energy content prediction by supplier, and ranking of firm offers on effective $/GJ.

Energy-based procurement aligns with where maritime regulation is already heading. FuelEU Maritime accounts for greenhouse gas intensity in energy terms (gCO2eq/MJ), the IMO’s Carbon Intensity Indicator rewards lower consumption, and the EU Emissions Trading System penalises excess carbon. Buying fuel on energy content rather than weight moves procurement onto the same basis as the compliance frameworks shipowners must now answer to.

Daniel Rose, Chief Executive Officer of Shipergy, said: “The market prices fuel in dollars per tonne, but ships do not run on tonnes, they run on energy. Two cargoes at the same price can differ by five per cent or more in the energy they actually deliver, and until now no procurement contract has recognised that.

“This agreement changes the basis on which marine fuel is bought. We are measured, and rewarded, on the true cost of energy delivered to the ship. We believe every fleet will buy this way within a decade.”

Photo credit: Shipergy
Published: 31 July, 2026

BAR Technologies on Wednesday (29 July) said while the shipping industry is right to plan for long-term fuel pathways, too much of the decarbonisation debate remains focused on what may become available in the future rather than what can be deployed now.

The company said this in response to a new study by EY Greece warning that shipping’s transition to net zero will be uneven and capital intensive, constrained by factors including alternative fuel availability, infrastructure, shipyard capacity, access to finance and fragmented commercial incentives.

The EY study identifies energy efficiency and operational measures as among the most practical near-term actions available to shipping. BAR Technologies argued that wind propulsion, already delivering measurable fuel and emissions savings on commercial vessels, must be recognised as a proven part of that immediate response.

BAR Technologies said wind propulsion has also passed an important market milestone. 

According to the International Windship Association, more than 100 large commercial cargo ships, representing over five million tonnes of deadweight capacity, are now equipped to harness wind power. That is almost five times the number recorded in May 2022, clear evidence that the technology is moving into the commercial mainstream. 

BAR Technologies are playing a significant part in this transition: By the end of 2026, 10 vessels will be operating with 23 WindWings® installed, giving a combined saving of approximately 100t of CO2 per day.

John Cooper, CEO of BAR Technologies, said: “Shipping needs to stop treating decarbonisation as something that only begins when future fuels arrive or every detail of the IMO’s Net-Zero Framework is settled. The industry cannot allow the absence of perfect policy certainty to become an excuse for inaction. Proven technologies are available now, and owners can act today.”

Unlike alternative fuels, wind requires no new fuel-production facilities, bunkering infrastructure or global supply chain. It is freely available as an energy source and can reduce a vessel’s dependence on whichever fuel it uses.

“Wind propulsion is not waiting to be invented or proven. It is already operating on commercial vessels and reducing the amount of fuel they need. The priority now should be to remove the barriers preventing more owners from investing,” he said. 

For wind propulsion, those barriers are increasingly commercial and financial rather than technical.

Under many chartering arrangements, the owner funds the technology while the charterer receives much of the benefit through lower fuel consumption. Until charterparty structures allow the costs, risks and savings to be shared more effectively, owners can be left carrying the investment and long-term performance risk.

Access to finance is another significant constraint. Without competitive green lending or blended finance, owners may have to fund emissions-reduction technology at conventional commercial borrowing rates. This can lengthen the payback period, particularly in the tramp, bulk and tanker markets, where routes, earnings and charter durations are less predictable.

The EY study concluded that the pace of shipping’s transition will depend on coordination, commercial bankability, access to finance and action across the maritime value chain.

Cooper added: “But the real way to unlock action now is to make green investment affordable. Shipowners need access to financing that makes proven emissions-reduction technologies commercially viable today, not at some point in the future. If we can lower the cost of capital and create funding structures that recognise both the fuel savings and the environmental value these technologies deliver, far more owners will be able to invest.

“Wind propulsion has already passed the technology test. Affordable finance, alongside charterparty structures that share the benefits fairly, is what will unlock deployment at scale.”

Photo credit: BAR Technologies
Published: 30 July, 2026

Tsuneishi Solutions Tokyobay (T-SOL) on Friday (24 July) said it delivered the first Low-flashpoint Fuel (MeOH) Supply System (LFSS) for medium- and low-speed diesel engines at the end of May 2026. 

The LFSS received Approval in Principle (AiP) from ClassNK in April 2024. It is the first unit of T-SOL’s proprietary LFSS developed in-house and will be installed on a Kamsarmax bulk carrier, marking its first application on an actual vessel following the AiP granted by ClassNK.

An LFSS is designed to safely and reliably supply alternative fuels with low flashpoints, such as methanol, to a vessel’s main engine.

The LFSS delivered by T-SOL has been developed specifically for medium- and low-speed diesel engines and features a simple and compact design in terms of its main components, dimensions and weight. The system is equipped with key components manufactured by Japanese suppliers, enabling the provision of instruction manuals in Japanese as well as prompt and flexible responses to customer enquiries.

As the LFSS is assembled in Japan, customers adopting T-SOL’s LFSS are not required to attend Factory Acceptance Tests (FAT) overseas or arrange for engineers from overseas equipment manufacturers to travel to Japan, thereby helping reduce both costs and operational burdens for customers. T-SOL also provides on-site technical support during commissioning and testing.

With the tightening and introduction of environmental regulations, marine fuels are entering a period of transition from heavy fuel oil to alternative fuels, including methanol. 

“The transition requires new expertise and considerable time for technical evaluation, increasing the burden on customers. Drawing on the expertise of its experienced engineers, T-SOL provides comprehensive support throughout each customer’s transition to alternative fuels,” the company said. 

Following the delivery of its first LFSS, T-SOL will continue to work to ensure a stable supply of LFSS units while advancing the research and development of technologies that contribute to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction, including engineering solutions for other alternative fuels. 

Photo credit: Tsuneishi Solutions Tokyobay
Published: 27 July, 2026