Transaction Process
Bunker suppliers and buyers both sign standard Voyager contracts to use Voyager. There are no upfront fees, no licences, no maintenance charges, no minimum transaction requirements and no contractual obligation to use the system.
Buyers provide their financial information directly to US Bank, which is bound by demanding US banking confidentiality rules & regulations ensuring that client information is entirely secure. US Bank then performs a credit review on buyers and issues credit to qualified buyers based upon their bunker purchasing requirements.
Buyers may choose their bunker supplier from those contracted with Voyager. An online database of fuel quality tests - updated each night - and buyer satisfaction ratings assists with the right selection.
The buyer and supplier discuss and agree the details of fuel purchase, and then go on line to the Voyager Maritime website and confirm the bunker nomination using Voyager standard electronic forms and procedures. Voyager allows both parties to monitor the progress of the transaction through the on-line authorisation, delivery, testing and billing phases.
LR FOBAS conducts a quality assessment on the delivered fuel and random quantity surveys. The results are fed-back to the Voyager central database.
If the fuel is on-specification, Voyager (through US Bank) guarantees to pay the supplier within 10 days.
The buyer is given extended credit terms and makes a single payment to settle a complete month of Voyager transactions 21 days after the end of each month – an average of 36 days credit.
Voyager provides consolidated billing to buyers. Buyers receive a single monthly bill for all their fuel transactions world-wide. Suppliers are paid within ten days of each transaction.
If the fuel is not on-specification, the supplier’s payment will be delayed until such time as a dispute resolution process between the buyer and supplier is complete. During this time LR FOBAS will provide objective and pragmatic input to both parties to encourage a prompt settlement.
As far as is possible, LR FOBAS will report on fuel tests within 72 hours of delivery. However, testing at extreme geographical locations might take a little longer. Voyager will pay suppliers within seven days of a satisfactory fuel test.
