"IBIA Annual Convention 2020-Going Global" event, to be held between 3 and 5 November, will include a virtual exhibition hall, access to comprehensive in-depth on-demand content, and a series of live panel discussions with audience participation, both regional and global.

Kitack Lim, Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), will officially open the event with a keynote speech.

Unni Einemo, Director at IBIA and IMO Representative, and Henrik Zederkof, Chairman of IBIA, will both be presenting the welcome address.

"IBIA's annual convention for 2020 comes at a time of extraordinary change sweeping through the bunker industry. The COVID-19 lockdowns saw marine fuel demand drop by as much as 30% in some parts of the world earlier this year. Pressures from the oil-price collapse and some alleged fraud cases in trading firms have left several banking institutions retreating from commodity trade finance, threatening parts of the bunker industry with reduced access to credit. And while the IMO 2020 transition went smoothly at the start of this year, quality problems with the new fuels have not been completely overcome and more trouble may come when prices begin to rise again. Attendees at the convention will see presentations addressing these issues and more, a wide range of live discussions in which they will be able to get answers from key industry experts, and have the opportunity to network with each other to take these conversations further," IBIA announced the event.

Maritime Business World