If you think this blog post is about concrete structures from 2. World War, I'm afraid I'm going to have to disappoint you. Bunker and bunkering in this context are all about fuel for large ships and all the logistics, transport, distribution and fuelling of that very same fuel. It is done in a slightly different way than when you pull into the gas station with your car and put unleaded petrol in the tank. Curious about how it works at sea? Then read on.
First of all: What is "bunker"?
Bunker is fuel in the maritime professions, but it can also refer to the actual physical space to which you would transfer the fuel, similar to the tank of your car. While passenger car fuel can be petrol or diesel, bunker fuel can be many things such as:
Liquid natural gas (LNG)
Diesel fuel
Lubricating oil
Marine gas oil
Bunker oil
Hydrogen
Fuel oil.
Today, however, work is also underway to find environmentally friendly alternatives. For example, several companies are trying to develop large ships that can run on solar energy. One way of doing this is to have ordinary solar panels on deck, but also to erect vertical "sails" that with integrated solar panels.
So how does bunkering work?
Bunkering is the actual transport and filling of bunker on a ship, and this takes place out at sea. Specifically, a small boat loaded with bunker fuel sails out to the large ship and begins the fueling process. This allows the large cargo ship to keep to its route and schedule as it also requires many hours for a large ship to slow down, sail in and berth. Moreover, it would require too much extra bunker fuel if the large ships had to sail into a port to refuel every time. Instead, a smaller boat is sent out to meet the big ship, as this requires only a fraction of the amount of bunker fuel that the big ship would need to make the same trip. This is precisely why bunkering is also an environmentally friendly alternative as things stand.
However, some ships do sail into ports to have bunker loaded. This is the case for ships sailing on the high seas, because the smaller ships don't have the same opportunities to sail out to meet the ships. Moreover, there is also a greater risk of high waves and storms out on the high seas, in which case bunkering would be downright irresponsible.
When dealing with oil out at sea, it comes as no surprise that its handling requires expertise and great care in order to avoid environmental accidents. This is precisely why it is important to have bunkering experts in place. Safety is also a key factor for us at Fuel Supply, so we make sure to regularly reviews all our partners who carry out the actual bunkering work out on the seas.