Bunker Planning and Analytics software provider BunkerMetric expands its product portfolio with BargeTracker.

Getting trustworthy data on the bunkering supply chain is difficult: which bunker barges are operating at a port, whom are they delivering to, who is operating them, do the barges arrive timely and other related questions can be hard to answer precisely, and input is often driven by rumours, hear-say and thin statistical evidence.

BunkerMetric aims to change this by employing machine learning and evidence-based analysis to tracking bunker barges using AIS and a range of other relevant data sources to derive a full trajectory of any bunker barge movements and their interactions with other vessels or port’s shore facilities.

“We have been working on and off on this idea for years but have focused on BunkerPlanner, our fuel procurement optimization product. Now BunkerPlanner has lifted off commercially and at the same time we have strong interest in the BargeTracker from bunkering and shipping industry, so we can dedicate the needed resources to fully mature BargeTracker. We will track +95 % of Barge-Vessel Bunkerings live globally.” said BunkerMetric CEO Christian Plum.

Every hour millions of AIS data positions are generated and digesting this huge data set and identifying the small fraction of these which describe bunkerings is a considerable task.

BunkerMetric’s Data Scientist James Richardson says: “Not only are we looking for a few needles in a hay-stack, but the needles we are looking for are of many diverse forms and can easily be mistaken for similar looking activities. Having access to vast data sources is just the start, combining it with the experience and insights of industry experts allows us to create bespoke models interpreting bunker barge behaviour in detail, aiming to derive any required information in real time”.

The project has reached a critical maturity, generating valuable data for customers getting insights in a bunkering market, as expected delivery waiting times, or gathering facts for use in Claims and Disputes. Customers can potentially be any actor in the bunkering or shipping industry who is looking for solid data on Bunkering activities -bunker suppliers / traders / brokers, or ports or even bunker buyers.

BargeTracker allows its users unprecedented transparency of the global bunker market, from the very detailed questions as which was the last 10 vessels bunkering at Kingston and approximately how much did they receive, to the very aggregate as how Gibraltar total volume has developed compared to Malta for the last 12 months, and any questions in between.