Algeciras Fuel Handover Under a Supply Agreement

Key takeaways

• Distinguish the standing agreement from the call-specific purchase.
• Identify accepted nominations, provisional requirements and amendments.
• Carry the relevant pricing and payment terms into the actual delivery.
• Do not infer a reserved window from a long-running supplier relationship.

A planned service still needs call-specific alignment

APBA's 2023 JIT bunkering project explored service planning at Algeciras anchorage D as a proof of concept. APBA project description

This historical context does not establish a current allocation for any vessel. Even where the buyer has standing terms, the actual purchase needs a clearly understood delivery basis.

For a current transaction, the nomination handover is not provided; obtain current verified information. Identify the applicable agreement, accepted call-specific scope and unresolved conditions, while keeping commercially confidential terms in the authorised record.

Identify what the standing agreement actually settles

A wider agreement may define pricing, payment or other commercial treatment for qualifying purchases. The desk should identify the provisions that apply to the proposed delivery rather than assuming every vessel call is covered in the same way.

Confirm the contracting entity, product scope and relevant period. A purchase by another entity or outside the agreed scope may require separate treatment even when the same buying team handles it.

Where interpretation matters, check the current text and obtain appropriate advice. The handover should state the supported position, not summarise an uncertain agreement as an unrestricted right to supply.

Identify what the nomination still needs to settle

The individual purchase should make the vessel, grade, quantity and intended delivery proposition clear. The supplier's response should identify what it has accepted and any remaining conditions.

A forecast requirement can help planning without becoming an accepted order. The outgoing desk must distinguish those states so that the incoming colleague does not treat a tentative quantity as committed demand.

If the vessel's programme changes, identify whether the accepted nomination has been amended or whether a revised request remains unanswered. The newest internal forecast does not necessarily replace the supplier's existing commitment.

Carry the pricing mechanism into the actual event

Where the agreement uses a defined pricing mechanism, the handover should identify the relevant inputs and event references. Do not replace the mechanism with an informal indicative price that was used only for budgeting.

Any estimated final price should be labelled as such, with the unresolved input clear. The invoice review later needs the actual agreed basis, not merely a remembered estimate from the planning stage.

Similarly, confirm whether a call-specific extra service falls within the standing terms. A framework fuel price does not automatically explain every additional charge that a changed delivery arrangement might create.

A framework-to-nomination handover table

Fictional case: the agreement exists but the call moves

A fictional buyer has a standing arrangement covering a defined class of fuel purchases. Its desk sends an Algeciras nomination for a vessel's expected call and receives acceptance on the proposed window.

The voyage programme later shifts. The outgoing desk updates the internal schedule but hands over only a note that the fuel is covered by the agreement. The supplier has not yet accepted the revised delivery proposition.

The incoming colleague's review restores the distinction. The commercial framework remains identified, while the changed nomination is marked as pending. Procurement obtains a scoped response covering the revised window and any associated charge before describing the call as fully arranged.

Preserve the balance of any wider commitment

If the agreement includes an expressly defined volume commitment or allocation, the desk should show how the accepted delivery is treated under that mechanism. Do not invent a running entitlement by subtracting informal forecasts from a headline number.

The appropriate commercial team should reconcile qualifying completed purchases, accepted future commitments and disputed treatment.

Avoid changing the vessel's quantity merely to improve a framework tally. The responsible requirement and the actual agreement both need to support the proposed purchase.

Close out the nomination without losing its context

After supply, connect the final delivery and invoice to the applicable agreement and nomination. Record authorised amendments so that the accepted final scope can be explained.

A successful delivery should close the call-specific workstream, while any unresolved framework issue remains visible to its owner. That prevents a local completion update from accidentally marking a wider commercial question as resolved.

Common mistakes

Avoid treating standing terms as a reserved service slot, turning forecasts into accepted orders and reviewing invoices against a planning estimate. Other errors include assuming all buyer entities qualify or using provisional nominations to calculate a binding volume balance. The handover should distinguish framework coverage from the actual call commitment.

Where Zeaclub fits

Zeaclub provides a multi-party shared workspace for owners, charterers, brokers and port agents.

Zeaclub offers digitalised procedures across the voyage workflow.

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