European Oil Barge Conference – Review

Last week I was at the first European Oil Barge Conference in Rotterdam and here is a quick summary of what went on:

Mark Richardson, Senior Barge Operator, Hess Energy Trading Co. Ltd

Mark’s opening paper “Barge Operations Past, Present and Future” was a great start to the conference giving us all a history lesson on how the industry has changed and is changing.

Main message I got?

Many more players in the market and whereas disputes could be resolved in the past by consensus of small number in the group this is no longer possible

Andrew Bonnington, Managing Editor, EMEA Clean Products, Platt’s Oilgram

Andrew gave us a run through how the prices for products in the barge market were calculated and outlined the “Market on Close” procedure. Platts also report on barge freight costs and Andrew explained how this data was collected.

Main Message?

Good information of how this market worked and how Platts want to work with the barge community in the future over demurrage clauses and dispute over non-performance for trades agreed in the Platts “window”.

Jos Van Altvorst, Chartering Manager, Interstream Barging BV

Jos gave us a very entertaining view of the market as seen by barge operators and took us through the 22 pitfalls that can be encountered on a typical voyage.

Main Message?

I was already aware of the demurrage related issues so I was particularly interested in the operational problems encountered by charterers not giving correct or timely information about loading terminals and cargo specification.

Cynthia Worley, Head of New Markets, Electronic Shipping Solutions

Cynthia paper on “Electronic Documents” outlined how things have changed in the business and some of the obstacles to change, often with people tolerating old ways and paper intensive processes. The future is electronic.

Main Message?

Sometimes you have to dance with your shirt off and look stupid to create momentum and provide leadership to this industry – you had to be there to see the video to appreciate this!

Cees De Baare, Port of Amsterdam Cees gave us the Harbour Master’s view of inland shipping outlining the growth in oil storage facilities in Amsterdam and the often conflicting demands of the port users versus the residents of Amsterdam who may not always appreciate the noise that comes with the prosperity of a port.

Main Message?

The expansion of storage facilities and forecast of future growth in port activity but the lack of lay-by berths for barges in Amsterdam – does this mean a future of congestion?

David Atkins, Demurrage Consultant David gave us a case study which raised questions around the notice periods of nominations and the variety of different wordings. He challenged the audience’s understanding of these words.

Main message?

What do we mean by two days notice? See my blog “what a difference a day makes” for more details.

Dinner We ended the first day in style with dinner on board the M/V “Henry Hudson” which took us round the port of Rotterdam where we saw real barges, ships of all shapes and sizes and great to see a working port whilst enjoying a meal and a glass of wine with friends.

Elizabeth Nemeth, Lead Negotiator Barge Demurrage, BP Oil International Ltd

Elizabeth opened the second day with six different versions of pro-rating the same demurrage claim, and told us that there are more options than that.

Main Message?

No wonder there are so many arguments in demurrage when there is really no consensus on the way these calculations should be done.

Jeroen de Man, Operations Manager, Odin Marine

Jeroen gave us an outline of the role of the broker in the barge business. Brokers are prevalent in deep sea market but a fairly recent innovation in the barge market and Jeroen gave us the advantages of using a broker.

Main Message?

Brokers are trying to bring more transparency to the market by proving market information and their aim is to increase productivity.

Phil Stalley, Demurrage Consultant

This is me! I gave my views on how we should change nomination and time bar clauses to avoid the disputes we currently run into. I also proposed a low cost arbitration service provided under the umbrella of Asdem.

Main Message?

Is the market ready for my ideas or do they even want to change?

Frank van de Ven, Vetting & Clearance Superintendent, BP Shipping Ltd. EBIS Netherlands

Frank gave us an outline of how EBIS works, how its activities have grown over the years. EBIS is a non-profit making organisation formed by Oil and Chemical companies to enable barge inspection reports to be carried out and stored.

Main Message?

EBIS do not approve or reject barges for use, it is the Oil/Gas Companies that use and interpret the reports to make the decisions as to whether they can use a barge or not subject to the individual oil company’s criteria

Martin Stokes, Asdem’s Senior technical Consultant

Martin took us through the quality and quantity issues facing the carriage of oil products in ARA and in the market in general. He emphasised the importance of measuring and sampling at each stage of the voyage.

Main Message?

The biggest issue for the industry in cost terms is not disputes over quantity but quality. Be careful out there!

Panel Discussion

We ended the day with panel discussion. What needs changing in the industry and how. There seemed to be universal agreement that TTB rules do not meet the needs of the industry and this has led to a proliferation of General Terms and Conditions all saying different things about nomination periods and demurrage. Many delegates had not heard of the LEAP initiative where a group of Oil Companies are looking to draw up a common set of terms for use in ARA. I sensed some scepticism around the room as to how fast this could be resolved and should the industry look at other options so solve some of these issues.

Were you there? Do you have anything to add?

Did you miss the conference? Do you want to know more?

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