ARACON 2024 CONFERENCE PROGRAMME

Stress-testing: What should a fit-for-purpose bunker industry look like?

Thursday 24 - Friday 25 October

Standard Rate: £995

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Programme details are updated regularly and are subject to change as new speakers are confirmed and themes developed.

If you feel you could make a significant contribution to the programme, please email Lesley Bankes-Hughes at lesley@petrospot.com or call +44 1295 814455 to discuss this further.

THURSDAY 24 OCTOBER

08:00

Registration & Exhibition Opens

Welcome Coffee
Silver Sponsor

09:15

Opening Remarks

Llewellyn Bankes-Hughes, CEO & Founder, ship.energy

SESSION ONE: Changing behaviour - the impact of new shipping regulations and redefining risk

For shipping, new environmental regulations are becoming a reality rather than a ‘may happen’. The industry is now involved in the early implementation phases of European environmental regulations, such as the EU Emissions Trading System and FuelEU Maritime, and discussions at the IMO are also focusing on further concrete steps that can be taken to reduce shipping’s emissions. This session will consider the ‘carrot or stick’ approach to regulation with speakers who will stress test the IMO’s CII requirement and discuss potential market outcomes for shipping and bunkering as a result of new EU regulations, the likelihood of global market-based measures, and how maritime stakeholders should negotiate the new contractual landscape as a result of regulation changes. Also, in an increasingly complicated commercial and contractual environment, the bunker industry must be constantly aware of risk factors. This session will conclude with a look at how ‘risk’ should be reevaluated and reframed across the board.

09:30

Welcome to ARACON 2024

Moderator:
Lesley Bankes-Hughes, Managing Director, ship.energy

Biofuel Bunkering: How to price biofuels in 2025 and how to prove their sustainability
Erik Hoffmann, Managing Editor, ENGINE

Game changing regulations: How to get a better nights sleep
Maria Skipper Schwenn, Director of Environmental Regulatory and Public Affairs, Group Commercial, Bunker Holding

The pooling opportunity within FuelEU Maritime Regulations
Jacob Granqvist, Vice President, Maritime, Gasum

Bunker Risks
Kieran Michael C. Brown, Group Credit Risk Manager, Island Oil (Holdings) Ltd

FuelEU Maritime: Pooling - Whos and Hows
Max Schroer, Co-founder, Bettersea

10:45

Networking Coffee Break
Silver Sponsor

SESSION TWO: Quality control – it’s all about the fuel

Speakers will consider what the changes in the new iteration of ISO:8217 mean for shipping and bunkering. They will also look at global trends in fuel quality and what we have seen in terms of fuel contamination issues over the past year. As biofuel blends increasingly enter the marine fuel supply chain, the issue of quality, provenance and certification will also be addressed, and fuel testing agencies will also look at advances in marine fuel testing. Speakers will also look at the buying patterns for HSFO, MGO and VLSFO in recent months, as well as pricing fluctuations, and potential future market demand for these fuel grades.

11:15

Moderator:
Lesley Bankes-Hughes, Managing Director, ship.energy

Biofuels Emissions
Gunnar Kjeldsen, Biofuels Development Manager, Bunker Holding

Argyrios Schoinas, Global Operations & Key Account Manager, VeriFuel – Bureau Veritas

Tracy - Global Fuel Quality Trends
Tracy Wardell, Global Technical Manager, Intertek Lintec

Panel Discussion / Q&A

12:30

Networking Lunch
Gold Sponsor

SESSION THREE: Home turf – the ARA bunkering market

This session is at the heart of ARACON. Speakers will address the core subject of fuel quality and the perennial issue of transparency and fuel quantity in the ARA market, as well as the changes in demand in ARA ports as a result of geopolitical events and sanctions. They will also look at how the fuel supply landscape has changed over the past 12 months in terms of market players and market dynamics. How is this key bunkering ‘hub’ looking to position itself as the energy transition gains momentum and are the ports of Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Antwerp broadly on the same page as they look to the future?

13:30

Moderator:
Llewellyn Bankes-Hughes, CEO & Founder, ship.energy

Navigating conflict: Bunker markets in the wake of Middle East tensions
Rowan Staden-Coats, Managing Editor, EMEA Residual Fuels, S&P Global Commodity Insights

Fuely waste, by Nature
Jacob Bac, Managing Director, Nature Group

Energy Transition from an ARA Bunkering Perspective
Christian Kint, CEO, Oilchart International

The Impact of Q&Q on Fuel Management in ARA
Martin Speksnijder, Regional Manager Surveys – ARA region, Viswa Group

SESSION FOUR: The point of no return – a bunker industry in flux

Whilst the trading and supply of conventional bunker fuels will continue for a number of years, the marine fuels industry is having to take a long hard look at itself and decide how it will change to meet shifts in market demand prompted by shipping’s decarbonisation. In this focused discussion, representatives of broking, trading and physical supply companies will discuss what commercial evolution means for them.

14:30

Moderator:
Llewellyn Bankes-Hughes, CEO & Founder, ship.energy

Alexander Prokopakis, Executive Director, International Bunker Industry Association (IBIA)

Harro Booth, Founder and CEO, ElbOil

Michael Schaap, Commercial Director, Titan

Michael Malamen, Commercial Director, PMG Holding 

15:30

Networking Coffee Break
Silver Sponsor

SESSION FIVE: New frontiers – delivering on decarbonisation

While shipowners will largely dictate the pace of decarbonisation through their ‘drop in’ fuel choices and new vessel orders, the marine fuels sector really is the linchpin in the delivery of the energy transition – it has to be ready to supply the new fuels when the market demands them.

Speakers in this session will discuss how the marine fuels sector is already stepping up to the mark in terms of biofuel, LNG and methanol supply, and look at what factors such as ISCC and mass balancing mean for maritime stakeholders. The technologies available to reduce fuel consumption will also be reviewed, while the efforts of ports to support shipping’s new fuels’ supply infrastructure will also be highlighted.

16:00

Moderator:
Lesley Bankes-Hughes, Managing Director, ship.energy

Evolution of port ecosystems required for maritime decarbonization
Naomi van den Berg, Program Manager, Sustainable Transport, Port of Rotterdam

New Frontiers: Delivering on Decarbonisation via Biofuels & Methanol
Steve Bee, Group Commercial & Business Development Director, VPS

Michael Schaap, Commercial Director, Titan

Johannes Schürmann, Commercial Director, FincoEnergies

Decarbonisation - the future fuel engine road map and carbon reduction technologies
Frank Harteveld, General Manager Sales & Strategic Development, Fuel Gas Supply Systems, Wärtsilä

18:30

Buses to Kralingen Boathouse

19:30

ARACON 2024 Reception
Kralingen Boathouse

22:00

Buses to Hilton Rotterdam

FRIDAY 25 OCTOBER

08:30

Registration and Exhibition Opens
Welcome Coffee Break

SESSION SIX: Deep dive – how data is changing shipping

From voyage optimisation to engine optimisation, to company practices, to bunker delivery operations, data and AI are transforming how shipping works. This session will look at how digitalisation is pushing the knowledge envelope for bunkering and how detailed and validated information on marine fuel deliveries is changing the way the sector goes about its business.

09:30

Moderator:
Claudia Beumer, Owner, C4Fuel

Digitalising marine fuel operations, enhance efficiency and transparency
Daryl Lim, Quality Manager, Metcore International Pte Ltd

How Data is changing shipping
Emile Hoogsteden, CEO, SOHAR Port

Tue Nielsen, Chief Strategy Officer, Ofiniti

 Panellist:

Jeff Mildner, Founder, Vortex Development Group

10:45

Networking Coffee Break
Silver Sponsor

SESSION SEVEN: We work – the ARACON leadership panel

The final session of ARACON 2024 will look at what leadership means for marine fuels and shipping companies in the mid-2020s. Sourcing finance, navigating a volatile global economy and geopolitical backdrop, as well as the energy transition,  recruiting, training and retaining the next generation of personnel will be some of the many subjects up for discussion in this always dynamic, pertinent and enjoyable closing discussion of ARACON.

11:15

Moderator:
Llewellyn Bankes-Hughes, CEO & Founder, ship.energy

Panellists:

Constantinos Capetanakis, IBIA Chair & Bunker Director, Star Bulk
Maria Skipper Schwenn, Director of Environmental Regulatory and Public Affairs, Group Commercial, Bunker Holding
Henrique Sprenger, Head of Insurance & Claims, Orient Shipping Rotterdam
Leon van Duivendijk, Managing Director, Iver Ships B.V.

12:30

Networking Lunch

13:00

End of conference