Интервью Президента Ассоциации В. Ковалева Charlotte Njeru, корреспонденту лондонского специализированного информационного агентства www.lloydslistbunker.60.com (на английском языке)

Vitaly Kovalev, Deputy General Director of the St. Petersburg-based bunker supplier, Baltic Bunkering Company (BBC), has become the first president of the Russian Association of Marine and River Bunker Suppliers. He has been with BBC since 1996.

'We now have 20 companies in the Russian Association of Marine and River Bunker Suppliers. They come from all over Russia, from St-Petersburg to Vladivostok. Another four candidates are waiting to join at the next general meeting.

'To my mind all heads of professional associations and voluntary organisations have the same main goal - to consolidate the efforts and energy of its members.

'I will do my best to build up solid and transparent relations with the authorities at all levels and of all types.

The Russian market 

'The Russian bunker market is very young - it is in fact only 10-12 years old.

'In the former Soviet Union, all bunker operations were performed by the one state company, Sovbunker: and for a time, at the beginning of 1990, there was no bunker service in Russian ports at all. 

'All Russia's bunker companies now face problems similar to those faced in Europe, for example. The issue of sulphur content in marine fuel and the ban on the use of single-hull vessels now form a large part of discussions currently being conducted by the Association. 

'We think it will be much easier to find solutions to those problems together. 

'Another important task for the Association is the image of Russian ports. Image has a big influence on their popularity.

'The quality of bunker fuel, the level of service, both go towards a port's general reputation. The duty of our Association is to contribute to improving the way the market sees Russia's ports.

The River System 

'Our members include bunker suppliers working on Russia's river system. These inland markets can be relatively isolated, compared to those in ports like St. Petersburg or Novorossiysk.

'We want to help such companies join the international bunker community; we want to share best experience and give them access to the latest working practices. 

The environmental challenge 

'Our business is a complicated, technical business which inevitably carries risks.

'Against this background, pressure to protect the environment is growing. We have to recognise that environmental problems are important and will become even more important.

'Our Association will try to change people's minds so that environmental issues are part of their thinking.

'The same is true for safety regulations. We have in mind some important initiatives, first in St-Petersburg - I won't go into the details now, but these will be made widely known later. 

Education 

'Another issue for us is professional education.

'Bunkering is a business where you need to be permanently upgraded, especially in Russia where rules and legislation can change very often. 

'We are now preparing programs, which will help our suppliers to be more efficient.

'That won't mean that international bunker courses will be less any less popular with Russian players, because demand is big. It seems that some points have to be studied in the West (like marketing, international rules, new financial tools, etc.), but there are many details specific to the Russian market that are well known only to Russian experts. We think the Association has a role to play.