Meet Jon Cosio, Database Coordinator at Odfjell.

Odfjell is one of the world leaders in the global market for seaborne transportation and storage of chemicals and other specialty bulk liquids. Established in 1914, it pioneered the development of the chemical tanker trade in the 1950s and the tank storage business in the late 1960s.

Interviewer: Tor-Arne Berger, Q88 Product Manager

Tor-Arne: Hi Jun, thank you again for taking time out of your busy schedule to participate in our series. To start off, how often in your daily work would you say that you’re using Q88?

Jun Cosio: Every day. There are particular modules like the Officer Matrix that are especially important to our business, and I monitor for changes and use HVPQ almost every day.

Q88 is also used frequently by our commercial operators when booking cargoes. Since it must be updated so frequently—with changes to certificates, surveys, equipment tests, and more—it is very popular and useful for my team. It is important for us to ensure we keep it up-to-date at all times with the latest inspection information and other changes.

Tor-Arne: What are the key benefits or features of Q88 for your role?

Jun: I would definitely have to say data. Data is key to decision making, and you never know when you may need certain pieces of historical data—it often proves really valuable to have accurate, standardized data on hand. Q88 allows me to capture data straight from the vessel and use it for future decisions.

Tor-Arne: Since you’ve been working from home, how have Q88’s cloud-based solutions helped you navigate remote work?

Jun: They’ve helped tremendously. During the pandemic, as many people did, I worked entirely from home for two years. Now, I occasionally go into the office when important things come up, but remote work is still very prevalent within our organization. Q88 definitely made the work-from-home transition quite seamless, as we had no disruption in access when we shifted to remote work.

Tor-Arne: For many of us,the pandemic definitely changed how we work. Would you say there have been any permanent changes to the way you work post-COVID?

Jun: I have actually found that working from home, especially with the Q88 tools, has had a lot of advantages. I’m tasked with answering a lot of questionnaires and updating other databases, and I found that I am able to maximize my working time and productivity by being at home. I update information for around 50% of the ships at Odfjell, which currently has around 100 ships, including time-chartered and externally managed vessels. We also have seven or eight different types of tankers, and information can vary significantly ship-to-ship.

I am also responsible for inputting initial vetting data that Superintendents then take to close and confirm findings. It can be quite tedious, and having the flexibility to work from home while maintaining easy access to Q88 has helped in many ways.

Tor-Arne: What, if anything, would be an additional feature that you’d like to see added to Q88?

Jun: That’s a great question. Q88 already has many important features that are integral to our work. The last one that really stands out is the vetting module, which has been extremely useful.

The one thing I can think of would be helping to streamline the data entry process. While it is usually seamless, and there are features to save one entry to every vessel, any additional shortcuts that can be added to assist in quicker data entry would be great.

Tor-Arne: Thanks, Jun. That’s interesting input, and we really appreciate it. Thank you so much for taking the time!

The post Meet the User: Jun Cosio appeared first on Q88.

The constantly evolving nature of today’s maritime shipping industry makes the link between ship and shore more important than ever before. The regulatory landscape is shifting, external factors like weather and port congestion have a high degree of volatility, and operational margins continue to be strained due to a variety of cost drivers beyond the business’s control. By extending connectivity to the vessel, maritime shipping organizations can eliminate inaccuracy and latency while accessing the information that drives stronger, more competitive decisions.

Let’s look at the top five reasons that onboard connectivity is critical in today’s maritime shipping landscape.

1. Data accuracy

High-integrity data has always played an integral role in commercial voyage planning, and its importance continues throughout the voyage. But this data is only as usable as it is accurate and accessible. In fact, 90% of maritime stakeholders say that real-time data access is critical for improving efficiency and productivity. It is important to note that onboard connectivity not only empowers shoreside professionals with information from the voyage at sea. It also equips onboard stakeholders with the information they need, no matter where they are in the world. With a bidirectional data relationship from ship-to-shore, data accuracy and accessibility are both transformed.

When stakeholders in the central office and crew members onboard the vessel are using the same, shared system, knowledge gaps dissolve and a single source of truth takes shape across the entire business. Users on the vessel can account for changes as they occur, and onshore users can rest assured that the information they receive is accurate, complete, and up-to-date. This includes crew information, which is particularly important to maintain safety and compliance.

2. Stakeholder connectivity

Collaboration is key to the success of any voyage, and collaboration between users on and off the vessel is even more critical for maximizing efficiency and maintaining complete visibility.  

An onboard solution enables richer collaboration by linking shoreside and at-sea stakeholders in one, centralized workspace. Users gain the indispensable ability to collaborate and share information in ways that were never before possible, without mountains of email and other barriers to streamlined communication. As a result, the business gains new levels of efficiency and continuity in every voyage workflow.  

3. Certificate management

A single vessel requires dozens of up-to-date certificates and documents, which are crucial to avoiding a safety issue that could have sweeping financial and environmental ramifications. Despite the significance of an oversight, many of today’s certificate management approaches remain largely manual and fragmented.

With an onboard solution, users can access and update certificates straight from the vessel, rather than relying on inefficient communication loops with their onshore operations. While certificate management may seem like a simple function, anyone who has engaged in maritime certificate management knows that it is quite nuanced. Certificates are continually expiring and renewed, making this a dynamic and ever-changing data type for everyone involved. Freed of unwieldy and redundant manual communications to validate certificates for each vessel across every voyage, stakeholders can spend their newfound time on more value-added tasks.

4. Inspections

Inspections are another critical component of vessel safety and compliance. But there is often latency between when an inspection occurs and when it is updated in the system, resulting in costly errors and avoidable delays. In the absence of onboard connectivity, inspections are either updated manually after a flurry of emails or once a vessel returns to shore. Both of these approaches are prone to inaccuracy.

Conversely, connectivity from the bridge empowers crew members to easily update inspections within the system as they occur. This allows stakeholders to not only ensure all inspections are accurate and up-to-date, but also to gain tangible insight from their inspection data and take proactive action. Ultimately, closing the gap between ship and shore when it comes to inspections enables a more performant fleet. 

5. Questionnaires

Questionnaires are integral to providing accurate vessel data, but they can quickly become outdated amid changing ever-vessel details if they cannot be updated directly from a vessel at sea.

A solution that allows crew members to automatically complete questionnaires from the vessel brings new confidence to questionnaire data. As a result, onboard and shoreside stakeholders can make sure that questionnaire information remains timely and error-free—all without adding extraneous layers of time and effort.

Achieve total connectivity at sea with Q88 Onboard

The vessel is the most important asset in the maritime shipping ecosystem, but it still remains largely disconnected from the benefits of digital technology and data-driven decision support. Embracing onboard connectivity as a natural extension of information management is critically important to safety, compliance, and commercial success.

Q88 Onboard provides the ability to review, update, and manage key vessel data in real time from onboard the vessel, anywhere in the world. The solution is trusted by some of the world’s largest vessel operators in their day-to-day workflows. Available as an add-on for Q88.COM and Q88 Dry, Q88 Onboard is designed to close the critical data gap between shore and sea and empower all stakeholders with the information they need to make the best possible decisions.

If you’re an existing client and are interested in bringing Q88 Onboard to your business, getting started is easy. Simply contact your rep today. If you’re a new client that wants to learn more about Q88’s vision for on vessel connectivity, request a free demo here.

The post Connectivity on the Vessel: Maintaining Visibility from Ship to Shore appeared first on Q88.

When asked what differentiates Q88 from its competitors, Tor-Arne Berger was quick to point out that the company is filled with shipping people, people who know the industry inside and out and together have over 350 years of experience. “Whereas many companies have software people developing software for shipping, Q88 has shipping people developing software for shipping. This is the difference, and it is a key factor in what makes us an industry leader,” he explains.

Tor-Arne emphasizes the importance that experience plays in product development. He has worked on designing, building, and delivering shipping-specific solutions for 30 years across various business areas. He has sat in the offices of literally hundreds of clients on five continents, listening and learning to find out why and how the right software can simplify and speed work flows. Solution development sometimes is born as a direct result of these conversations. Tor-Arne finds that clients often provide a critical piece of information, without even realizing it themselves.

Close contact and cooperation with customers has always been a priority with Tor-Arne, and underscores the strong supporting role this plays in ensuring the relevance of the company’s solutions. “We seek, welcome, and encourage feedback,” he says. “Input from the people using the software helps us to understand how it is being used, how it benefits them, and what more they would like to get from our products. This information forms the basis of everything we do at Q88.”

Strengthening the company’s all-round capabilities

Q88 is well established as a market leader in information management for the marine freight industry and is particularly known and respected in the tanker sector. Building on the success with tanker fleets, Q88 has invested significantly in bringing innovative and value-adding solutions to the dry bulk space as well.

Tor-Arne states, “When I joined Q88, the company already had a mature and successful product offering, and of course, I saw maintaining this dominant position as a major part of my work and that continues. Now I am focused on building from the success in the tanker space to focus on the dry.  We expect Q88 Dry to become an industry standard, paralleling what our clients expect and know from us for tankers.

Building integration possibilities

Regulatory compliance has pushed integration to the forefront of the rapidly evolving and changing shipping sector. Companies need to stay competitive and integrate closely with business partners, while the various systems they use also need to be integrated in order to achieve efficiencies and optimized performance. Access to Information (AIT) systems are a key enabler for successful integration.

Q88’s collaborative approach brings stakeholders together to share information throughout the commercial process. The company continues to develop and fine-tune tools for counterparties, enabling the information maintained on Q88 solutions to be consumed in other systems, and vice versa.

Staying abreast of industry changes

During the past decade or so, digital technologies have initiated huge changes in ship and fleet operations. In parallel with this changing landscape, the regulatory environment has become increasingly complex, with new rules and updated to industry standards continuing to come into force.

“We work hard to make sure that we stay in touch with all of the changes happening in our industry. Every new development, and everything the maritime sector is doing with respect to regulations and standards have to be factored into our thinking. We can’t allow ourselves to play catch-up, so we always place emphasis and focus on being proactive in our product development,” Tor-Arne explains.

While the regulatory framework is certainly more elaborate for tanker operations, it is becoming notably tighter for dry bulk operators. This more regulated environment is anticipated to continue for both for the vessels and the cargoes they carry, which is why Tor-Arne and his colleagues are regularly in active conversations with customers. “We seek the best pathway forward for the maritime industry to meet regulations and simplify compliance.

New ownership brings synergistic benefits

The recent acquisition of Q88 by Veson Nautical unites two of the maritime technology sector’s most respected brands. This will further both Veson’s and Q88’s commitment to keeping ahead of its clients’ evolving needs and Veson’s vision to be the standard platform that propels maritime commerce.

“I see nothing but positives in this bringing together of our complementary product lines,” says Tor-Arne. “Looking at it from my background as not only an IT person but also as a shipping and business person, I see very beneficial synergies between the systems developed by Veson and Q88. Our joint customers, and even the industry as a whole, will gain as a result.”

Learn more about Q88 Dry and Q88.com.

The post How Tor-Arne Berger Approaches Developing Q88 Solutions appeared first on Q88.

Q88 has helped connect the industry for over 20 years, and it is a principle we live and work by. An integral part of achieving that is connecting with the industry,  and our collaboration with our valued customers and with INTERTANKO is central to doing exactly that. As the industry has gone through challenging times with world events and the pandemic, 2022 is also bringing significant changes to regulatory compliance, with HVPQ 6 and SIRE 2.0 being on top of the list. On July 4th, HVPQ 6 went into a six-month transition process, with the industry to be fully migrated by early January 2023. In addition, there will be a major shift in the tanker vetting process in October, when the current Ship Inspection Report Programme (SIRE), launched by OCIMF in 1993, is replaced by SIRE 2.0. As the industry continues to meet the challenges of regulations and the overall market turbulence, we endeavor to play our part by understanding the changes and delivering appropriate solutions and the highest quality services to meet the industry’s expectations

In May, we had the pleasure of attending three INTERTANKO meetings, the first one being Athens’s Intertanko Hellenic and Mediterranean Panel. The presentation focused primarily on SIRE 2.0 webinars, supporting documentation, types of questionnaires, concepts, and focus on significant risks. After all that, the Chairman of the Vetting Committee delivered a presentation addressing the key changes coming with the introduction of SIRE 2.0 by underlining the vital role that INTERTANKO and the Vetting Committee play in contributing to OCIMF, particularly in the review and development of guidance and training materials.

Second in line was the INTERTANKO Annual General Meeting- London. During this meeting, full members and associate members of the association confirmed the previous year’s financial reports and discussed membership issues. Of course, the next hot topic in the tanker industry and indeed at the London meeting was SIRE 2.0. A panel consisting of OCIMF and INTERTANKO representatives gave a presentation on the development of the SIRE 2.0 and engaged with the audience on discussions around the implementation of the SIRE 2.0 program.

A third INTERTANKO gathering was held just two weeks later, in Dubai this time. Here, four committee meetings took place over two days. Q88 was given the opportunity to make a short presentation to the Vetting Committee, followed by a more extended Q&A session, to inform them on all matters that we assist our tanker operator customers on. The presentation included:

• Recent Developments of our product like the SEDNA Integration, dashboard, new Q88 Onboard, and Q88 Pro products and cargo history features.  
• Upcoming developments with HVPQ 6 | SIRE 2.0 | Certificates | Q88 v.6.
• Our recent acquisition by Veson, and details of which members were interested in.

Of particular interest to members of the INTERTANKO Vetting Committee was where we stand with the challenges presented by the SIRE 2.0 regime, the status of Integrations with Oil Companies and Terminals, and any other new tools to be included in our vetting platform.

OCIMF has been working on this project since 2017, and although it will be coming to fruition later this year, many questions and apprehensions remain across the industry. 

While the current SIRE program is considered to be a highly successful driver in improving safety management on tankers, recent changes have been made to ensure that tanker vetting practices can keep up with the changing risk profile of the tanker industry. SIRE 2.0 program will consist of a risk-based questionnaire tailored to individual vessels’ risk profile.

The process will start off with a Pre-Inspection Questionnaire (PIQ) along with supporting documents and photos. This will allow the inspectors to familiarize themselves with the vessel before they arrive to perform the actual inspection. The Vessel Inspection Questionnaire (VIQ) will transition from a static document that is completed with Yes/No answers to the new VIQ, which is divided into four subcategories: Process, Hardware, Human, and Photos. 

We will also be working on our Vetting Module to be able to support some of the new changes in the pipeline. Keeping in continuous contact with our clients, gaining valuable feedback, and participating in INTERTANKO Meetings and other research enable us to begin the transition on our platform to support the members. We are working to help with some of the time-consuming tasks that will take place before the actual inspection, allowing you to store the required documentation on our platform for your fleet. This will save you valuable time and enable your shore staff and officers onboard to focus during the inspection.

The post Intertanko Meeting Recap: Connecting the Industry appeared first on Q88.

I learned a long time ago to “expect the unexpected.” While that isn’t necessarily a term unique to the shipping industry, it certainly applies in recent years. Think back to the start of the global COVD-19 pandemic more than two years ago when global trade and supply chains were severely disrupted, and tens of thousands of ships sat idle for longer than ever before.

Back then, at that moment in time, I don’t think anyone could have predicted that just in a couple of years’ time, the orderbook for newbuild ships would be so big that there would very few slots available for tankers in the next few years. In fact, during an investor presentation by TK Tankers in mid-May this year, the ship owner confirmed that ‘shipyards are largely full through 2024 and an estimated 60% full through 2025.’ Unbelievable!

For anyone even mildly interested in the comings and goings of the global shipbuilding market, it’s been hard not to take notice of broadcasting of newbuild contracts by the maritime press. You can’t scroll through any of the major maritime publications without seeing another massive order being placed for containerships. In April, Splash 24/7, with attribution to Clarksons, reported that Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC) had ordered 14 container ships. On June 6th, Lloyd’s List reported that in the week previous $4.5bn worth of containerships had been ordered, spanning 30 ships between 2,800 teu and 23,000 teu capacities.

On top of media reports, comparisons are being drawn to previous years that highlight the size of the containership building boom. Data analysts, Vessels Values confirmed in one of their analyst reports that 561 container vessels were ordered in 2021 compared to 114 in 2020. The surge in containership orders can be attributed to cash-rich owners rapidly expanding their fleets off the back of high rates and high demand.

A boom is also occurring in gas tanker buildings – LNG and LPG tankers in particular. This is good news for the shipyards since they tend to focus on this class of ships as they generate more revenue.  In their latest report, the Danish Ship Finance group confirms the clear preference for the gas and container fleet and the lack of newbuildings for the tanker (crude, product, and chemical) and dry fleets – see the first graph below. The second graph shows how the global fleet ages out, which is even more striking.

Insights into the shipbuilding market such as this are made possible by the analysis of relevant data. But how do you access such data, and how much time is required to trawl through statistics on shipbuilding contracts or vessel data? When it comes to needing deeper insights into global new building activities and trends, such insights are less readily available or easy to understand from publicly available data or maritime media reporting.

Take the Danish Ship Finance graphs as an example. How do those data points get turned into valuable information that can be used quickly and effectively for commercial decisions? Having access to market trends and how they relate to tonnage supply and commercial decisions is an incredibly powerful asset, but where do you find the time to gather and interpret the data required? Luckily for users of Q88.com, Q88PRO, and Q88 Position List platforms, they can unlock the ships behind the data and dig deeper into trends. These advanced platforms can provide up-to-date, fast information to commercial and operational teams, allowing them to keep their finger on the shipbuilding and repair pulse to make better decisions or have a clear view of the market.

From Q88.com, shipowners, brokers, charterers, operators, or any person conducting business within the maritime industry can access information that is backed by over 250 data points per vessel. This gives users an unprecedented view of the marketplace from a single, central access point. On top of that, upgrading to Q88Pro improves the flow of information through your organization while empowering their commercial team to see a broader (and deeper) view of the market. AIS position data and searchable position lists also enable ship owners and charterers to track their fleets and global tonnage supply and competitive market insights of the industry at large.

But that’s not all; the Q88Pro and Position List platform have an advanced search feature that allows the user to look at the year built to show exactly what ships start to hit the 20-year mark and rank them by size. Tracking when ships are due for their next special surveys, the yard of build, and other criteria is also possible.

Our subscribers can sort data in columns by age, deadweight, and next dry dock, just to name a few. Combining those search parameters with our AIS data from the Position List tool unlocks a more powerful way to look at where the ships are and where they are going. This all leads to gaining a better understanding of supply trends, thus making it easier to decide about taking in a ship, letting one out, or perhaps looking at a new building.

For our customers, unlocking the ships behind the data means keeping a finger firmly on the pulse of the global fleet. In a fast-moving market, having data-driven, in-depth insights on ships at the push of a button supports commercial decision-making like never before.

The post Unlocking the Ships Behind the Data appeared first on Q88.

There are factors as to why businesses struggle to generate actionable information. One being the types of SaaS solutions in the market. Over the last several years, many solutions have been geared towards vessel operations, resulting in a market that is awash with tools to better serve those persons operating ships. This is a great start. However, the link to the commercial decision-makers is missing. The need to share information across an organization successfully is paramount and silos within companies must be broken.

When you look at the commercial side of the shipping business, often the charterer department needs information from their operators to make critical decisions on the next voyage. In most cases, the system that the chartering team uses is disconnected from their operations leaving a level of uncertainty that the information is up-to-date and accurate. A day or two here and there can result in either a missed voyage or too long of a wait, both of which can have a detrimental and material impact on voyage returns. In today’s challenging environment, it is imperative that owners have complete certainty in their business decisions because wait time can sink voyage returns from marginal to terrible. Never has the saying “time is money” been more valid.

Q88 Pro is a solution that streamlines your data access. Built on a simple idea that no one should have to look too far to find the information they need, Q88Pro was developed for owners, operators, and charterers. It integrates data sources and software with advanced analytics to deliver relevant, timely market insights to have confidence in the decisions you make. It works to break down silos to help the entire organization see a clearer view of the business at large.

Giving users a wider view of the market with relevant and necessary tools.

Customers of Q88Pro can easily compare owned fleets to direct competition and the market at large, and overall, feel more confident in decisions so you can meet sustainability demands, increase efficiency, and get a competitive edge.

Cargos and Fixtures Reporting:
Using data sourced from a 3rd party provider, Q88Pro can provide daily fixture imports so the platform functions as a place where you can store fixtures and access them at the ready. You have the ability to add your own fixtures, integrate historical fixture data, store private fixtures. And, with our new cut-and-paste tool, lessen input time!

Better Accuracy:
With our ability to provide intelligence on busy maritime routes by combining Satellite AIS and T-AIS that cover the earth 24/7, Q88Pro uses multiple AIS sources to improve the accuracy of vessel location so you can feel more confident in the position data.

Better data for better decisions:
Capitalize on analytics and predictive modeling to anticipate conditions and better plan voyages. With these tools, you can track tonnage supply trends over time by analyzing data based on geographical criteria and vessel-specific data, construct supply lists based on your needs with a 30-day look-back of the history of that supply, AND see the next commercial open position.

Integrations:
Using API integrations, Q88Pro can seamlessly and easily integrate with external systems, ensuring that your chartering team and operations team are in synch.

For a complete overview of Q88Pro, click here. If you are interested in a product demo, fill out this form to get started.

The post Overcoming Data Silos in Organizations appeared first on Q88.

Introduction

In the world of liquid storage, some 5,000 terminals can be identified – all having different types of functions. A terminal’s main function is to balance supply with demand, and they can act as import terminal, as trading platform or offer strategic storage options.

Q88 and Insights Global are proud to partner to bring our clients timely information. Never before has the relevance of these terminals been highlighted, and in this article we will analyze the recent confluence of events including 1) super contango due to OPEC+ conflict and 2) demand destruction due to the COVID-19 crisis, impact tanker vessel visits, and berth occupancy at the four major trading hubs.

Key Trading Hubs

In the international oil and petrochemical market, four main trading and storage hubs can be distinguished: Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA), Houston, Singapore, and United Arab Emirates (UAE). Due to their large consuming backyard, their refinery infrastructure base and their trading/financial industry presence, these hubs have become dominant regions in this trading industry.

Figure 1: Location of tank terminals around the globe; source TankTerminals.com

Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) consists of 68 terminals with a total capacity of around 36Mcbm, and 65 of these are marine terminals. Based on capacity, the most dominant player is Vopak (9.2Mcbm) followed by Koole (3.5Mcbm), VTTI (3.2Mcbm) and Oiltanking (3.2Mcbm).

The port of Houston has 52 terminals with a capacity of approximately 29Mcbm. Main players in this group are Kinder Morgan (6.3Mcbm), Enterprise Products (4.7Mcbm) and Magellan Midstream (4.2Mcbm). Of these terminals, 35 have barge access and 24 have sea access.

Singapore has 21 terminals with a total capacity of 16Mcbm. The biggest storage player in this area is Vopak (3.3Mcbm), followed by Oiltanking (2.5Mcbm) and Universal Group (2.3Mcbm).

United Arab Emirates (UEA) consists of 61 terminals with a capacity of 18.5Mcbm. 20 of these terminals have sea access and 11 have barge access. The most dominant storage player is Vopak (2.6Mcbm), ADNOC (2.3Mcbm) and Horizon Terminals (1.7Mcbm). All of these terminals are marine terminals.

“When deep-diving the global tank storage market and specific areas, it absolutely essential to understand how many storage capacity there is, how many players are active and what their position is”, according to Jacob van den Berge, Marketing and Sales Manager at IG. “This is the first step in defining the competitive landscape of the industry.”

Major Events and Their Impact on Storage Demand

Super Contango Due to OPEC+ Conflict
What is contango? A contango is a situation where the price of front month oil futures is lower than oil with future delivery. If the spread between these prices is large enough to cover storage, finance and shipping costs, a trader is able to make a profit by buying oil now and selling it on the futures market for a later delivery. However, in order to capitalize on this profit, a trader needs storage (and transport) capacity. That is what happened in the first quarter of 2020 with massive demand for storage in ARA and the other key trading hubs resulting in high occupancy rates, putting a premium on free tank capacity now. As the contango market structure persists and there is a lack of onshore storage facilities, traders are turning to tanker vessels to store their precious hydrocarbons.

This situation was heightened when Russia and Saudi Arabia could not come to terms regarding the height of production cuts to stabilize the fall in oil prices and Russia stepped out of the OPEC+ alliance. This resulted in Saudi Arabia offering its crude with huge discounts to its international customers, which triggered a free fall of oil prices and resulted in a super contango.

The recent peace between these two top producing countries and the subsequent OPEC+ deal has only reduced the speed of oil prices declining. The recent negative WTI oil prices show that we are far from balancing the market.

“Having an understanding of these key issues is imperative while calculating potential earnings,” says Chris Aversano, Product Manager at Q88.com. He continues, “Many of our products have earnings estimators that are built-in, giving our clients a greater understanding of the marketplace.”

Demand Destructive Impact of COVID-19
As we know, Coronavirus originated from China, and initially affected only China and its enormous economy. However, as the virus spread, different government lockdown interventions were initiated and economies came to a standstill. Less consumption, less production, less trade and less investments caused demand to be reduced significantly, all occurring in the first quarter of 2020.

A new feature in TankTerminals.com, called the Logistical Performance Benchmarking add-on, enables us to see what’s going on at terminals on a weekly basis. Amongst others, we can look at the activity levels at tank terminals.

So what did the numbers at the terminals of these major trading hubs show? Is there any impact of the super contango and COVID-19 crisis visible?

Putting It All Together

Tanker Hub Visits Per Quarter
In figure 2 below, it is evident that the number of tanker vessel visits at the marine terminals of the different hubs, ARA and Singapore show a similar pattern as it does for Fujairah and Houston. For ARA and Singapore, this chart implies that the peak of the visits were at the end of 2017 and the least visits were in the first quarter of 2020. For Houston and Fujairah, this chart implies the highest number of tanker visits was in the second quarter of 2018 while the lowest number of tanker visits were seen in the first quarter of 2019.

Figure 2: Tanker visits per hub per quarter; source TankTerminals.com

Marine Gross Trade Per Hub Per Quarter

Marine gross trade is calculated with the DWT of tanker vessels that loaded and discharged at a certain terminal. When we look closely at the marine gross trade trend and we compare that to the number of tanker visits, we are able to distinguish a similar trend as seen in figure 2 below.

It is evident that the marine gross trade of the different hubs are more in line with each other. ARA accounts for 38%, Singapore 32%, Fujairah 18% and Houston 12% of the total sum of marine gross trade within these four regions. ARA is known for its intra- and inter- regional barge transports which contains lots of tanker visits with low volumes of product. Houston has a lot of push boat transports which are not included in this tool’s coding. Furthermore, we excluded Galveston and Beaumont area from the numbers.
Figure 3: Marine gross trade per hub per quarter; source TankTerminals.com

Berth Occupancy Per Hub Per Quarter

Berth occupancy rates per region show a diverse picture on a quarterly base. However, some sensible deduction can be derived from looking at the data. According to the figure 4 (below), for ARA, Singapore and Houston regions, the average berth occupancy rates per terminal show a rather stable picture per quarter with minimum values around 31-32% and maximum values around 34-35%. Fujairah has a relatively inconstant structure with a minimum value at around 29% and maximum value just below 40%.

It is evident from the chart below that the average berth occupancy rate for all hubs combined is the second highest in the first quarter of 2020. Across all regions, the data implies that average berth occupancy in this quarter is far above the average value. The decreasing trend up to the first quarter of 2019 highlights the ‘wait-and-see’ attitude leading up to the IMO 2020 marine fuel implementation. The peak in berth occupancy rates in the second quarter of 2019 and subsequent increases in berth occupancy since then can be explained as terminal operators were preparing for IMO’s legislation that went into effect at the beginning of 2020.
Figure 4: Average berth occupancy per quarter; source TankTerminals.com

Conclusion and What’s Next

When looking at the statistics of tanker visit numbers, marine gross trade and average berth occupancy rates, it can be concluded that the main trading hubs show similar patterns, especially in the second quarter of 2020 in which the defining events OPEC+ conflict and COVID-19 evolved.

In the first quarter of 2020 the number of tanker visits of the different hubs was at a minimum while the average berth occupancy rates were at their second highest. The low number of tanker visits is likely to have been caused by 1) high fill rate, or almost full tanks of terminal operators due to contango storage play options and 2) lower consumption levels due to demand destruction by COVID-19.

The high berth occupancy rates can be explained that, despite the low number of tanker visits, in the first quarter of 2020 terminal operators were coping with the impact of COVID-19 to their business operations which might have resulted in a bit slower vessel handling at the terminals.

“Knowing how well your ships are performing is crucial during these uncertain times,” say Chris Aversano, Product Manager at Q88. He continues, “Our VMS system gives the owners peace-of-mind to make the right decision at the right time. Additionally, our Position List platform allows for brokers to better serve their clients in a highly competitive and continuously changing space.”

Jacob van den Berge, Marketing and Sales Manager at IG adds: “using different data sets, combining this with our own unique knowledge and expert knowledge of our partners such as Q88 has proven to offer unique market intelligence. This supports our relations in making justified commercial decisions.”

According to figure 5 below, when we focus in at the first quarter of 2020 and look at the tanker vessel visits in ARA on a weekly basis we see the number of tankers at terminal’s berths are all below this time series weekly average. If we than look at the ARA oil product stocks levels for the same time-period, we can actually see a buildup of stock levels since March 12. This in line when the lockdown measures that were initiated by the European governments.
Figure 5: ARA stock levels and tanker visits; source TankTerminals.com

This article was written in collaboration with Patrick Kulsen, Managing Director of Insights Global and Jacob van den Berge, Head of Marketing and Sales of Insights Global.

If you would like to learn more about Insights Global or Q88 please contact us.

Chris Aversano, Q88
Office: +1 203 413 2030
chris@Q88.com

Jacob van den Berge, Insights Global
Mobile: +31 (0) 6 28 34 87 84
jvdberge@insights-global.com

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