BRITISH transport consultancy MDS Transmodal has issued an online bunker adjustment factor (BAF) calculator for shippers, forwarders and carriers, based on a bespoke system it developed for Hapag-Lloyd
BRITISH transport consultancy MDS Transmodal has issued an online bunker adjustment factor (BAF) calculator for shippers, forwarders and carriers, based on a bespoke system it developed for Hapag-Lloyd. 'Greater transparency in the calculation of BAFs would help shippers make appropriate decisions in the run-up to the IMO 2020 January deadline,' said MDS managing director Chris Rowland.
'We developed the methodology for Hapag Lloyd's marine fuel recovery mechanism in autumn 2018,' he said, reports London's Loadstar.
'But we wanted the whole market to have access to an independent and transparent source of data on bunker costs for containers as the IMO 2020 deadline approaches,' he said.
The MDS online service allows shippers and shipping lines to calculate the bunker cost per TEU 'for each of 154 deep-sea container services operating on seven major trade lanes'.
The calculator suggests that switching from heavy fuel oil (HFO) to marine gas oil (MGO) on a 'benchmark' Asia-Europe service deploying 18,500-TEU vessels would increase the bunker cost per TEU by US$62 for the westbound voyage and $39 for the backhaul.
'This level of increase in BAFs will in itself lead to heated negotiations as shippers seek to avoid additional costs and the lines look to protect their bottom lines,' MDS said.
But there are variations on the increased cost depending on the specific liner service, the price could be as high as $81 and $51, for headhaul and backhaul legs.
'While some lines are installing scrubber systems so they can continue to use cheaper high-sulphur fuels, they will need to recoup the cost of their investment and may use the additional cost of burning MGO incurred by their competitors to inform their pricing decisions,' he said.
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