ZeroNorth has announced that it has acquired Singapore-headquartered BTS Ltd, a software platform for marine fuel suppliers.
The deal will see ZeroNorth acquire the firm’s iBMS (Intelligent Bunker Management System), used to digitalise business processes for fuel suppliers, traders and brokers, which it plans to develop into a fully cloud-based system, improving the overall offering for current and future clients.
That service will eventually be incorporated into ZeroNorth’s unified platform to provide greater scope for optimisation across maritime operations.
“The marine fuel industry is taking centre stage in shipping’s green transition. With the increasing pressure to digitalise and optimise your marine fuel supply chain, and the influx of alternative fuel options becoming available, equipping our customers with the ability to make better decisions in regards to procuring, storing and selling fuel is becoming a key priority for ZeroNorth,” said Kenneth Juhls, Managing Director of ZeroNorth Bunker.
“By acquiring BTS, we are taking the next step towards delivering an end-to-end marine fuel service that aligns all stakeholders across the same data through the ZeroNorth platform. Moreover, by building a bridge between stakeholders, we are increasing collaboration across the maritime value chain and accelerating our goal to drive decarbonisation alongside the wider industry.”
iBMS was one of the first projects supported by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) under the Maritime Innovation and Technology Fund in the early 2000s. BTS is also one of seven members of an industry consortium tasked with developing mobile applications for bunkering documentation and workflows, as awarded by the MPA’s digital bunkering Call for Proposals in January 2022.
