Alex Albertini, CEO of Monaco-based bulker company Marfin Management, has become the first commercial partner of BunkerTrace, which offers a new solution which claims to offer unparalleled transparency in the often not very transparent world of marine fuels.

Launched in October last year, BunkerTrace uses synthetic DNA markers in the bunker supply chain and records each transaction in a blockchain-based solution.

BunkerTrace claims its system enhances marine fuel traceability and provides a clear chain of custody for better quality assurance in the bunker fuel supply chain, something especially valuable in today’s global sulphur cap era, a period recently described as a “perfect storm for litigators” with plenty of fuel discrepancies emerging in recent weeks, according to splash247.com.

Marfin’s Albertini said: “Our aim is to take back control of the entire bunkering process, from insurance and supply to purchasing and bunkering. By adding BunkerTrace’s unique tags at specific points of the bunkering process from terminals to bunker barges and being able to validate the stem in real time onboard the vessel, while uploading all the process information on a blockchain infrastructure will create full transparency and accountability for every stakeholder in every bunkering operations. We need cleaner fuel for a cleaner industry not just through regulations.”

Marc Johnson, CEO at BunkerTrace, said: “With the implementation of the IMO sulphur cap, owners, managers and fuel suppliers need to manage their fuels with greater scrutiny. As several new players enter the bunkering market and the use of blended fuel increases, it’s more important than ever that owners and managers have confidence in the fuel they are buying and loading. Using blockchain in marine fuels operations is already a natural fit for managing data in an often fragmented chain; but combining this digital technology with synthetic DNA to create unique tags linked to key data such as location, provenance and chain of custody, is what really makes this such a solid system for owners, insurers, suppliers, and crew to use.”

Marfin Management is a family-run business that operates and manages bulkers ranging in size from handymax to ultramax.

Marfin Management is no stranger to innovation that will help environmental protection beyond increasingly tight legal requirements.

In July last year Marfin and Wartsila announced that the Paolo Topic bulk carrier would be made much more fuel efficient with the installation of a hybrid power module to ensure that new technologies are installed unproblematically and that they can be controlled in conjunction with the ship’s several existing power production systems. The Finnish company said that solar panels would be installed on the weather deck, an industry-first for the maritime sector.

SOURCES: splash247.com, ship-technology.com and others PHOTO: The Paolo Topic Marfin Management