Commodity trading giant Cargill and Maersk Tankers have formed a strategic partnership to combine their bunker volumes, offering a new bunker procurement service to tramp shipping companies and trading houses.
The initial goal of the partnership, which will officially launch on April 1, is to procure bunker fuel for the Cargill and Maersk Tankers combined fleet, while aiming to attract additional customers in the coming months.
According to Cargill, the company currently charters a fleet of around 700 vessels and procures 2.5m tons of marine fuel per year, while Maersk Tankers will add the volume stemming from its commercially managed fleet of more than 220 product tankers, increasing the joint annual bunker volume to 3.5m tons.
The two companies believe the bunker market will go through a radical transformation as the maritime industry transitions towards carbon-neutral to meet the IMO’s target to reduce GHG by 50% by 2050, and the new service will provide unique access to future marine fuels including Cargill’s growing internal biodiesel business.
“As independent bunker consumers with no physical oil activity or bunker assets, there will be no conflicts of interest. We can therefore focus on providing transparency, robust benchmarking, and a modern and digital customer experience,” said Olivier Josse, head of tankers and marine fuel at Cargill Ocean Transportation.
“Tramp shipping companies face challenges today in a bunker market that is becoming increasingly complex. With our new bunker procurement service, we want to make their lives easier,” said Claus Gronborg, chief investment officer at Maersk Tankers.
“Through our scale, they will get access to bunker fuel at competitive prices, while getting an experienced partner that will navigate the bunker market on their behalf. We are excited to venture into this together with Cargill and utilize our combined expertise to provide this new solution to both our pool partners and other shipowners and operators,” Gronborg added.
