An extraordinary conference in extraordinary times

The Strait of Hormuz blockade was still less than two weeks old when delegates arrived. What that meant in practice, including rerouted tonne-miles, collapsed counterparty reliability in the Gulf, war risk surcharges eclipsing freight rates as the dominant voyage cost, was debated in real time by the people with tonnage in the water. Those conversations happened in sessions, over lunch, at the drink’s reception sponsored by the Marshall Islands Registry. 

Delegates have fed back that the market intelligence alone justified the trip. Richard Matthews of Gibson told the opening panel that, despite weeks of noise, the underlying structural fundamentals had not changed. Bonita Nightingale of Maritime Strategies International identified where the next wave of chemical cargo disruption would actually show up: not in energy markets, but in fertiliser supply chains, weeks or months after the headlines move on. Madhu Vadakkepat of N2tankers mapped the commercial opportunity being created on the West African, Brazilian and Ecuadorian trade corridors as Gulf supply collapsed. That is the kind of forward-looking positioning intelligence that shapes fleet deployment decisions, and it was shared across two days of open panel discussion with people who have skin in the game.

From awareness to action

On regulation, the room moved from awareness to action. Lotten Kronudd of ADS Insight was direct: the EU ETS review proposal lands in July, the window to shape both that and FuelEU Maritime is open now, and those not actively engaged in Brussels are ceding the argument to someone else. Øistein Jensen of Odfjell demonstrated what acting ahead of the framework looks like in practice: a 55 per cent reduction in carbon intensity achieved through documented, reproducible measures that are available to any operator willing to act. The green biofuel corridor between Brazil and Europe that Odfjell has self-funded is already banking FuelEU compliance credits. First movers are not waiting for the market to price the advantage; they are building it.

The conversations on crew welfare, SIRE 2.0 and digital transformation produced specific intelligence that operators can act on immediately. This ranged from ING Bank’s financing criteria (attitude to performance improvement, not CII letter rating) to the practical economics of different shore power configurations from Thun Tankers, to the case study from Atlantis Tankers on running route optimisation and AI engine monitoring across a live fleet. 

Who will win future markets?

The awards recognised Erik Thun Group, Bahri Chemicals and Stephen Fewster of ING Bank. In their acceptance remarks and the sessions that followed, they returned to a consistent theme: the market is not short of solutions. But the future will belong to those willing to adopt them early, rather than wait for regulation to compel action.

That point was reinforced throughout the conference, with updates ranging from contra-rotating propellers (Brunvoll) and DC grid architecture (ABB) to shore power deployment (Thun Tankers and Bureau Veritas), alongside 40 quantified efficiency measures identified by DNV.

The International Chemical & Product Tanker Conference returns in 2027. Riviera’s year-round coverage of the sector continues online in writing and through our webinar programme. Join us to benefit from the intelligence, the relationships and the first mover positioning only available to those who attend.  For more information please email ian.pow@rivieramm.com