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The ongoing war around Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has so far seen a rise in fuel prices but not yet a significant shortage, the recent Maritime Journal and Seawork round table webinar exploring the fuel crisis heard.
Maritime Journal editor Debbie Mason introduced the five-strong panel and asked: “No one can have escaped the impact of rocketing fuel prices that have resulted from the blockade of oil movement, and none less perhaps than the workboat sector. So what's the industry doing to cope with the crisis if there is a crisis indeed?”
Among the expert insights was the clear message that the maritime industry in general, and workboat sector in particular, needed to be ready for a long haul to full fuel recovery.
Daniel Freeman, Head of Business Development at Williams Shipping, told the webinar panel: “We've been told by our suppliers that if the war ended today, and everyone shook hands and there was peace across the Middle East and around the Strait of Hormuz, there would be no change to supply for six to nine months because the infrastructure damage is just so significant … land-based infrastructure has taken a huge hit.”
Director of Rix Shipping Nick Allen confirmed that view: “Supply has been okay so far, the refineries still have got a decent supply on the Humber.
“A slight concern might be that as the strategic reserves do go down, we might end up in a bit of a bottleneck… but at the moment it's been business as usual although with a high fuel cost that does have some problems for us in terms of our credit lines.”
Another aspect to the ongoing fuel crisis is that while green fuels and technologies exist, many are not yet providing a cost-effective alternative.
Debbie Mason pointed out: “New vessels are being designed and built, aren't they, with capability for new fuels, but in actual fact they're just running around with all this extra equipment on them and still being powered by diesel… so it's definitely a transition phase.”
Kerrie Forster, CEO of The Workboat Association added: “My understanding of the fuel situation is that currently, even with the spike in diesel or MGO, we're still at only around two-thirds of the cost of HVO. So there's still a massive gap to the current cost of HVO, which hasn't really risen because it's unrelated to oil.”
On a broader point around new-build vessels Menno Kuyt, Commercial director of Maritime Craft Services, noted: “We've recently taken delivery of two out of three new CTVs. When we placed the order we always thought they would have green technology because three or four years ago there was a real push from our clients to have more green technology, but that that kind of fell away purely because of the cost and probably because the industry wasn't quite up to where it should have been.”
It was a view shared by Tidal Transit’s CEO Leo Hambro who added: “I think we've got to be wary of the word hybrid as well. It gets bandied around way too much, and in many cases it's as useful as a couple of AA batteries.
“You have to find something that not only makes a saving now but makes even greater savings going forward. So, I think as Menno was saying, it's about being prepared for change in new builds.”
