Baltic Exchange has released a free digital Fuel Equivalence Converter to help users assess the physical and commercial impact of using alternative marine fuels.
The tool allows owners, charterers, traders, and brokers to compare the mass, volume, and energy content of traditional and alternative fuels, to support operational planning and compliance strategies as the industry transitions to greener options.
The converter follows the launch of the Baltic FuelEU Maritime Calculator in December 2024, which was expanded to include biofuels in March 2025, offering users a practical way to assess energy equivalence across fuel types and determine how much of an alternative fuel would be needed to match the energy content of traditional bunkers.
“With a number of standard and alternative fuels available on the market, finding the conversion rates and energy ratios of all of the options in one place is incredibly difficult,” said Martin Crawford-Brunt, Emissions Lead at Baltic Exchange.
“As the range of potential fuel alternatives increase, this converter enables owners, charterers, traders and more to understand the physical properties and energy content by volume of each fuel type.”
“Finding viable fuel options for our specific trades and ship types requires informed, data-led decisions that are grounded in reality.”
The converter supports multiple fuel types, including VLSFO, HFO, LFSO Crude, LFSO Blend, ULFSO, MDO, MGO, LNG, ammonia, and methanol. It also accommodates various measurement units—metric tonnes (mt), cubic metres (cbm), and MMBtu—allowing for more precise comparisons across energy systems.
As an example, a 300,000 dwt VLCC operating at 11 knots in laden condition consumes around 39.8 mt of VLSFO per day. Using the converter, this would be equivalent to 38.4 mt of MGO, 33.4 mt of LNG, 82.4 mt of methanol, or 88.2 mt of ammonia.
