World Bunkering > News > Summer 2010 > Chairman's Introduction

Mike Ball

Oscar Wilde said that, after a good dinner, one can forgive anybody – even one’s own relations. Fortunately, having made my first speech as Chairman at the Annual IBIA dinner in London in February, there appeared to be nothing to forgive. Nobody heckled, and some people even laughed in the right places. I must say it was a genuine pleasure to see so many members and guests gathered together in one place. I believe ‘networking’ is very much the thing these days, but I prefer to call it friendship when the IBIA family gets together in this very public way.

At this time last year, Chris Fisher warned that our industry was in for a tough 12 months. He wasn’t wrong. This year I hope you will forgive me if I repeat Chris’s words of warning. At a time when the world seems unable to decide whether it is in or out of recession, it would be unwise to make any predictions for the bunker industry in 2010.

One thing we can say with some certainty, however, is that the quality and speed of communications in our industry these days is much better than at any time in history. Occasionally, of course, that can be a curse, and often it means we are more likely to be doing business with people we have not met before. But that is how business grows, and relationships develop, and we must continue to rely on our instincts while making sure that the contracts we sign reflect the true intent of both parties.

Generally speaking, the information available to us today, usually at the mere touch of a button, should make us more efficient and more knowledgeable as an industry – and that applies both internally and externally. The speed and quality of communication between IBIA members has, as you know, recently been enhanced by the launch of a new, user-friendly website. I urge you to make best use of its sophisticated facilities. We must work to make IBIA even more accessible than it already is, by communicating our news and concerns on a regular basis.

Greater transparency and wider access to information should also improve levels of professionalism within our industry, which is one reason why IBIA will push ahead this year with its plans to introduce professional qualifications for those working in the bunkering sector. We cannot do it overnight, but we will do it, and the industry will be better for it.

IBIA’s constitution, as you know, has undergone significant recent change, and its governance transferred from a Council of Management to an executive structure headed by a Board of Directors. That was done in order to enable IBIA to focus more easily and move more quickly on issues that affect its members. We expect members to benefit from the changes. Certainly, the IBIA administration has done a remarkable job on behalf of the membership over the years, and I am confident it will continue to do so.

IBIA has kept its finger on the pulse of changing regulations over the years, and has indeed played a proper role in influencing their formation. It has a proven track record of representing the bunker industry at IMO and other important bodies, and it has shown time and again that it has a voice which can be heard and which is respected. If we do not become involved in those issues which impact on our members, we face the increasing risk that our industry will be exposed to rules, regulations and standards imposed by third-party bodies which do not understand how we work, and over which we have little control.

Our job is to keep a weather eye out for developments on both a national and international level, which is why we recently alerted members to the fact that, with effect from April 20, 2010, EU regulations on the sulphur content of fuel used by ships at berth in EU ports became law in the UK, and that ships failing to comply would face the risk of prosecution.

The new regulations essentially implement, in the UK, the EU Directive requiring member states to take all necessary steps to ensure that ships at berth in their ports do not use marine fuels with a sulphur content exceeding 0.1% by mass. In addition to the requirements under MARPOL Annex VI, the new regulations embrace a number of other requirements. Interestingly, though, they make no reference to the lower sulphur limit for ECAs of 1%, which comes into effect on 1 July 2010. As such, they are a good illustration of how domestic implemention of legislation often lags behind the decisions of international organisations. As always, the devil is in the detail. And, as always, IBIA is looking out for its members’ interests.

It is important to remember that IBIA is a voice for all the constituent parts of the bunker industry, and that it is committed to representing each of them with equal vigour. Given the way that our industry is developing, and the manner in which the economic climate within which it operates is unfolding, it is likely to be a voice which is heard with increasing regularity, and to telling effect, for the foreseeable future.

Mike Ball