Auramarine, a leading fuel supply systems expert, believes shipping’s energy transition is entering a phase where flexibility, not fuel choice, will determine which operators adapt successfully. With fuel price volatility, inconsistent alternative availability and tightening environmental regulation at different speeds across regions, Auramarine argues that the right approach to fuel supply infrastructure is now as strategically important as the fuel itself.
“The industry has spent years asking which fuel will win,” says John Bergman, CEO, Auramarine. “That may be the wrong question. No operator today can predict with confidence what will be available, compliant or commercially viable in five years. The operators who adapt best will be the ones who built in the flexibility to their fuel strategy to respond as conditions change.”
Auramarine’s own fuel split technology, first delivered in 2019 and now installed on around 20 vessels, reflects this thinking in practice. The retrofit system adds a fuel booster module onboard, allowing a ship to run different fuels through the same engine without the extended changeover procedures dual-fuel systems typically require. This lets operators switch to MGO or biofuel, for example, to meet an ECA requirement, support maintenance schedules, or respond to fuel pricing shifts, without taking a vessel out of service. Delivered in sections through existing doors and hatches, it can be retrofitted to vessels already in operation.
Bergman sees this need for adaptability sharpening in sectors under the most operational and regulatory pressure. ”Cruise and ferry operators feel this earliest and most acutely,” he says. ”These vessels constantly move between regulatory zones and environmentally sensitive waters, so the ability to switch fuel supply without disrupting a schedule is an operational necessity. What’s notable is how many operators in this space still don’t know infrastructure like this exists, despite how directly it addresses what they’re already dealing with.”
Reliable flexibility requires a tailored approach, not just adding equipment. ”The best results come from scoping flexibility to an owner’s actual fuel strategy, not adding complexity for its own sake,” Bergman adds. Automated fuel changeover systems are designed to keep multi-fuel operations straightforward for crews, while a structured maintenance approach ensures inspection, testing and servicing can be carried out safely throughout the vessel’s lifecycle. This is where Auramarine’s lifecycle services play a central role, supporting operators well beyond initial installation with the ongoing servicing, spares and technical support needed to keep flexible fuel systems performing reliably for the long term, whatever the fuel landscape looks like in years to come.
“Over the next few years, operators who succeed will be the ones who stopped waiting for certainty and started building optionality instead,” Bergman adds. “In a transition this uncertain, adaptability matters more than any single fuel bet. That’s the conversation we want the industry to have.”
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