FincoEnergies will issue electronic bunker delivery notes (eBDNs) for all of its marine biofuel deliveries across the ARA hub, replacing the paper forms signed once pumping is complete.  

IMAGE: The Veere is one of VT Group's bunker barges that have delivered biofuel stems for FincoEnergies recently. VT Group

The electronic notes should cut paperwork time, reduce transcription errors and let invoices go out sooner, according to the company.

Dutch barge operator VT Group and the DNV tech spin-off Ofiniti are partners on the project.

From exception...

Electronic BDNs are the exception, not the rule in bunker ports around the world. But FincoEnergies says digital paperwork will reduce admin and speed things up, especially as increased biofuel bunker demand puts more pressure on its operations.

“Schedules are becoming increasingly tighter as demand for sustainable biofuels grows,” says FincoEnergies trading and operations director Leon Arets.

The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) approved eBDNs in July 2023, saying they need to meet Marpol Annex VI requirements and be kept onboard ships for three years after bunker deliveries, either in hard copy or electronically.  

FincoEnergies might be a frontrunner in the ARA, but the ARA has not been the very first mover on eBDNs more broadly. Singapore launched an eBDN initiative in November 2023, ExxonMobil said that by December 2024 it had issued over 100 eBDNs in Singapore, and from 1 April this year eBDNs became the standard in the port.

That was coincidentally also the day China’s first bunker delivery with electronic paperwork took place. Chimbusco delivered 1,300 mt of VLSFO to a COSCO container ship in Shanghai and issued an eBDN.

The biggest challenge to implementing eBDNs is that the receiving party is not familiar with it yet, FincoEnergies tells ENGINE.

"Looking at Singapore where eBDNs were made mandatory from 1 April, 2025, we understand that not all Chief Engineers appear to be properly informed yet, leading to surprises when receiving their bunker deliveries. In some cases, the BDN will then have to be printed and signed, circumventing the eBDN approach," a FincoEnergies representative says.

...to the rule?

Electronic BDNs can also make opaque bunker operations more trustworthy, says FincoEnergies, and calls on wider industry adoption.

“Our vision is that digital delivery becomes the norm, not the exception. The faster the industry embraces this shift, the sooner we can unlock the full efficiency and transparency needed to support a net-zero future for shipping,” Leon Arets says.

If eBDN adoption picks up in the ARA and major bunker ports like Fujairah or Zhoushan follow, we could see a tipping point, FincoEnergies argues.

The physical supplier has made several announcements lately to broaden its commercial and physical reach. In March, it started issuing Proof of Compliance (PoC) sustainability documents – a Dutch first. In April, it acquired another Dutch bunker supplier, and it launched a FuelEU Maritime pool for overcompliant shipping companies to sell their compliance surpluses to undercompliant companies.

By Erik Hoffmann

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