Marine Fuel Bunker Logistics.

Marine fuel is costly, the cost of fuel frequently in the millions of dollars per lift. Marine fuel is frequently ordered in large quantities, typically hundreds or thousands of metric tonnes, with specific and detailed fuel specifications and delivery method requirements. For this reason, a transaction cannot typically be initiated at the point-of-sale and frequently must be requested a week or more in advance of a vessel actually coming into port.  The time involved in locating and qualifying fuel suppliers, ordering specifications, confirming or disputing transaction details and processing payments represents additional administrative expense.

Additionally, due to oil price fluctuations, the cost of a single, non-contract transaction can be extremely volatile.

A Better Procurement Process.

To help mitigate cost-issues in key ports, the United States Government has historically pre-negotiated long-term contracts for bunkering services with marine fuel suppliers for prices linked to industry pricing indexes. However, as frequently happens, when there is no contracted merchant available at a port of entry, vessel operators require a method to locate and evaluate the fuel options available to them.  The SEA Card^® program was initiated to make fuel procurement and the resulting payment process more efficient for both vessels and merchants, while decreasing administrative costs for the U.S. Government.

SEA Card^® was designed as a custom-built web application, accessible 24 / 7 / 365 from any computer with a working Internet connection. SEA Card^® standardizes the marine fuel ordering process, electronically capturing all transaction details throughout the procurement process, including authorization and confirmation that the transaction has occurred. This electronic capture eliminates
wait time associated with paper transaction processing and expedites payment to the fuel supplier.