Liners wary of new bunkering procedures
Friday, 30 May 2008
Carriers may not welcome new bunkering regulations at ports as they are already under pressure for faster turn-around times, says a liner executive. Rashmin N. Jolapra, assistant operations manager for CMA CGM & ANL (NE) LLC in Dubai told Bunkerworld and Portworld on Thursday that “ships compete with economies of scale and one way of reducing this strain is fast turn-around times. “One of the several ways operators endeavor to reduce port stay time is plan to bunkering operations concurrent with cargo operations,” said Jolapra.
According to Jolapra, operators coped with “time pressed situations like port congestions” through “window berthing concepts and occasionally vessels skipping the next port of call and/or trimming down cargo intake for the sake of maintaining the advertised schedule on a popular service.”
“Any delays attributed to bunkering would be the proverbial last straw on the camel's back,” said Jolapra.
He stressed that vessel operators aim for "the minimum port stay and endeavor to maximize trips under a time charter.”
His comments came after authorities in Port Klang, Malaysia announced that new bunkering procedures would come into force at the beginning of June. Some players in the Malaysian bunker market warned that regulations might trigger delays.
One of the new regulations calls for a 45 minute inspection on each bunker barge before every bunkering operation.
Jolapra said that “Port Klang needs to reconsider the time frame.”
Source: Portworld
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