The Gothenburg Port Authority launched a digital solution designed to make bunkering at the Energy Port easier and more efficient.
The new ‘Bunkering App’ is one of the first in the world to offer this range of functionality, said a press release from the largest port in the Nordic countries.
The Port of Gothenburg Energy Port is the largest open access energy port in the Nordic region, handling over 2,500 calls and more than 23 million tonnes of energy products each year. The Energy Port is also one of the world's larger bunkering hubs. In an effort to make the bunkering procedures easier and more efficient, the Gothenburg Port Authority has developed the new ‘Bunkering App’.
The app is available to all bunkering operators at the Energy Port. Instead of reporting manually via email and phone, they submit advance bunkering notification using the app. The app also shows available collection points for loading marine fuel onto bunker vessels.
The app also compiles bunkering statistics, facilitating the work of the Swedish Maritime Administration Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) and other organisations at the port. The idea behind the app is to make it simpler for bunker operators to plan and carry out their work effectively.
“Overall, I think the app is already working very well, although the coastguard and VTS notification function needs to be more user-friendly. Booking quay space and the quay plan are excellent, giving us better foresight, which in turn helps us in our day-to-day work,” said Karolina Skoglund, bunker operator at Bunker One.
The app is also of benefit to the Energy Port's security coordinators, who save valuable time by no longer needing to act as intermediaries between the different parties. As the bunker operators administer quay bookings independently, all that is required is process verification.