The Baltic Exchange - Experts & Thought Leaders

Baltic Exchange has launched the maritime industry’s first-ever free Fuel Equivalence Converter, a reliable, easy-to-use digital calculator that helps owners, traders, brokers and charterers to navigate the complexity of the physical properties of the wide variety of marine fuels that are currently available on the market.  The Fuel Equivalence Converter is the latest resource provided by Baltic Exchange to help shipping players understand the cost and commercial implications of greener fuel options following the launch of its FuelEU Maritime Calculator in December 2024, which was then expanded to include biofuels in March 2025. Traditional bunker and green fuel options The converter enables users to compare the mass, volume and energy content of various traditional bunker The converter enables users to compare the mass, volume and energy content of various traditional bunker and green fuel options in order to better understand how their bunker supplies would be impacted to achieve an equivalent energy level. This type of data is critical for owners and operators looking to reduce their compliance costs or run their vessels on cleaner alternatives.  Range of potential fuel alternatives “With a number of standard and alternative fuels available on the market, finding the conversion rates and energy ratios of all of the options in one place is incredibly difficult." "As the range of potential fuel alternatives increase, this converter enables owners, charterers, traders and more to understand the physical properties and energy content by volume of each fuel type,” said Martin Crawford-Brunt, Emissions Lead at Baltic Exchange. Fuel consumption of the Baltic standard Fuel consumption of the Baltic standard ship is defined in terms of metric tonnes per day of marine fuel oil “Finding viable fuel options for our specific trades and ship types requires informed, data-led decisions that are grounded in reality. Just as we have done with our other emissions-related calculators and resources, Baltic Exchange is helping the industry to cut through this complexity,” Crawford-Brunt added. The fuel consumption of the Baltic standard ship is expressed in terms of metric tonnes per day of marine fuel oil. The Fuel Equivalence Convertor can be used to quickly find the volume or mass of an alternative fuel to provide a similar amount of energy.  Vessel’s bunker fuel storage At present, the converter includes VLSFO, HFO, LFSO Crude, LFSO Blend, ULFSO, MDO & MGO, LNG, Ammonia and Methanol. It also includes various unit types, including metric tonnes (mt), cubic metres (cbm) and MMBtu, enabling shipping players to understand how different fuel options will impact their vessel’s bunker fuel storage and management systems. Baltic Exchange’s Fuel Equivalence Converter Baltic Exchange’s Fuel Equivalence Converter shows that this vessel would require 38.4 mt of MGO For example, the fuel consumption for a 300,000 dwt Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) at an eco-speed of 11 knots and in laden condition is 39.8 mt of VLSFO. Baltic Exchange’s Fuel Equivalence Converter shows that this vessel would require 38.4 mt of MGO or 33.4 mt of LNG in order to achieve the same energy levels. Similarly, the converter shows that the same vessel would require 82.4 mt of methanol or 88.2 mt of ammonia to achieve the same level of output. Baltic Exchange decarbonisation journey “Understanding the potential impact on operations of the many alternative fuel options is crucial given the shipping industry must navigate the growing number of emissions regulations coming into force, successfully. By simplifying the process and providing this converter to the industry free of charge, alongside our other calculators, Baltic Exchange is doing its part to support decision makers with their decarbonisation journey,” Crawford-Brunt noted.  “As always, we look forward to feedback from the industry to understand more about how we can improve our tools and resources to make them more effective for real-world users,” he added.

Baltic Exchange has introduced a series of green fuel options to its FuelEU voyage and compliance cost calculator as more shipowners, traders and charterers seek to understand the commercial implications of this regulation on their voyage costs. Biodiesel, bio-LNG, bio-LPG, green methanol, green hydrogen and green ammonia have all been added to the calculator, either as green fuel or blend options. Overview of the cost implications Baltic Exchange’s FuelEU Maritime calculator provides an overview of the cost implications Baltic Exchange’s FuelEU Maritime calculator provides an overview of the cost implications for the selected option relative to the Baltic standard for that route. This will enable the market to factor any change in fuel selected or contemplated into their voyage cost estimates. New FuelEU Maritime regulation “Green fuels are expected to be very expensive initially, so will likely be blended into fossil-derived fuels initially, to achieve compliance with the new FuelEU Maritime regulation." "For this reason and based on industry feedback, we have added a blend capability to Baltic Exchange’s FuelEU compliance and fuel cost calculator,” said Martin Crawford-Brunt, Emissions Lead at Baltic Exchange. Baltic standard ship and route types These results of the measures are all presented relative to the Baltic standard ship “Baltic Exchange is assisting the market by cutting through the considerable complexity of these regulations by providing a simple decision-making tool that estimates the voyage costs of the many fuel and blend alternatives quickly and simply,” he added. These results of the calculations are all presented relative to the Baltic standard ship and route types, which is generally considered to be burning VLSFO in navigation outside ECA and MGO for waiting and port consumption. Speeds and consumptions of the test ship The output from these calculations shows the cost differential for the fuel under consideration with the entered speeds and consumptions of the test ship versus the market standard. For example, a 115,000 dwt LR2 clean tanker operating on the TC20 Baltic route (Al Jubail – Rotterdam), assuming a standard speed of 11 knots with ballast consumption of 21 mt/day and laden consumption of VLSFO of 27 mt/day, stands to save nearly $30,000 in fuel costs if using a 35% B100 blend option. Ratio of biodiesel The vessel stands to save increasing amounts of costs on fuel as the ratio of biodiesel to VLSFO increases Despite an increase in overall fuel costs, the amount saved for being in compliance with the FuelEU Maritime regulation will offset those costs and provide additional savings compared to burning purely VLSFO. According to Baltic Exchange’s FuelEU Maritime Calculator, in this example, the vessel stands to save increasing amounts of costs on fuel as the ratio of biodiesel to VLSFO increases. Fossil-derived versions In addition, the table below shows the voyage cost outcomes for the same vessel and route depending on which green fuel is blended into VSLFO at 10%. These calculations are made with the assumption that these green fuels cost twice as much as their fossil-derived versions, which make up the remainder of the fuel burned on the round voyage. FuelEU Maritime-related savings FuelEU Maritime-related savings of using bioLNG results in more than $400,000 in overall savings In this example, bioLNG offers the most cost-effective option as a fuel blend. While it has a higher overall cost compared to ePLG or B100, the FuelEU Maritime-related savings of using bioLNG results in more than $400,000 in overall cost savings. “With the latest update to Baltic Exchange’s FuelEU Maritime Calculator, users now have the ability to experiment with any green fuel blend percentage taking into account the assumed green fuel cost premium and the expected well-to-tank emissions profile for the specific green fuel blend selected,” Crawford-Brunt noted. FuelEU Maritime and EU ETS “Regulations like FuelEU Maritime and EU ETS will become increasingly impactful on voyage costs to and from the EU. All contracting parties, their brokers and traders need to be able to estimate these additional costs quickly to avoid facing high financial penalties." "Baltic Exchange is pleased to be able to offer these vital emission resources and tools to its members and the wider market as we all strive for a more sustainable future for shipping,” he added.

Baltic Exchange, the world's only independent source of maritime market information for the trading and settlement of physical and derivative contracts, and Veson Nautical, a global pioneer in maritime data and freight management solutions, have joined forces to launch the latest version of the official Baltic99 Questionnaire for the dry bulk sector. The questionnaire, which remains the industry standard for collecting and collating detailed information about the global dry bulk fleet, is designed to help owners and charterers share common data requirements to speed up the vetting process when a vessel is put up for hire, facilitate faster trades and ensure smarter pre-fixture decision making. Latest version of the questionnaire The latest version of the questionnaire, available as of now, has expanded its criteria to cover It is also a vital tool to ensure owners and operators supply the data they need as part of their commercial and vetting criteria to ensure they are in line with regional, national and International Maritime Organization (IMO) regulations. The latest version of the questionnaire, available as of now, has expanded its criteria to cover an increasing cadence of requests for safety and sustainability information about bulk carriers.  Ballast Water Treatment Systems As a result, the Baltic99 Questionnaire has been designed to help move the global maritime industry move forward on a number of key issues, such as reducing carbon emissions, increasing operational safety standards in the dry bulk trade, and Ballast Water Treatment Systems. In addition, respondents to the Baltic99 Questionnaire are also asked for their vessel’s greenhouse gas (GHG) data, energy and consumption ratings and NoX emissions compliance data. Veson Nautical’s dry bulk information management The enhancements in this latest version of the questionnaire contain tips from the Baltic Council The enhancements in this latest version of the questionnaire incorporate suggestions from the Baltic Membership Council, industry partners and subscribers to Veson Nautical’s dry bulk information management service, Q88 Dry. “Using Q88 Dry to complete the Baltic99 Questionnaire with integrated certificate management makes it easy for owners and operators to share vessel particulars and certificates with your charterers and brokers,” Tor-Arne Berger, Senior Product Manager at Veson Nautical said. Data and enhanced safety requirements “The Baltic99 Questionnaire remains the industry pioneering questionnaire for commercial fixtures in the dry bulk industry,” noted Janet Sykes, Chief Commercial Officer at Baltic Exchange. “This latest revision includes several key developments linked to important emissions-related data and enhanced safety requirements to ensure charterers are hiring the right vessel for their needs and expedite the vessel acceptance process.” Veson Nautical on the Baltic99 Questionnaire “We are pleased to once again partner with Veson Nautical on the Baltic99 Questionnaire as we all work together to drive the maritime industry forward to a more sustainable and efficient future,” Skyes added. Both companies are now urging owners and operators to verify that their vessel data is accurate, complete and up to date.