Ofiniti Eyes 20% of Global Bunker Market as Digital Platform Scales Rapidly

Ofiniti, a digital platform for coordinating marine fuel operations, is on track to handle nearly one-fifth of the world's bunker fuel by next year. The company has already completed 24,700 bunkering operations in 2026 alone—surpassing the entire 24,000 it processed throughout 2025, with four months still remaining. Over the past eighteen months, more than 13,000 unique vessels have used the platform. By August, Ofiniti had moved more than half a million metric tons of alternative fuels, a volume it had already exceeded by the time the year's eighth month closed.

These numbers matter partly because the digital bunkering sector has been a graveyard of failed platforms since the early 2000s. What sets Ofiniti apart is deliberate restraint about what it does and does not do. The company explicitly avoids procurement—the buying side of the fuel chain—and steers clear of voyage optimization and routing systems. Instead, it focuses on the operational layer: scheduling, coordination, digital delivery, documentation, and the shared visibility that allows all parties in a bunker transaction to see the same picture. This narrow focus proved crucial. Torben Carlsen, the company's newly appointed chair and former chief executive of shipping company DFDS, was initially skeptical that suppliers would embrace a shared, transparent platform. He was wrong. Barge operators became early adopters, and shipowners began demanding access to the data their suppliers could now provide through Ofiniti.

The platform took root in Singapore, the world's largest bunkering port, which recorded 56.2 million metric tons in bunker sales in 2025 against global demand of roughly 275 million metric tons. Singapore's electronic bunker delivery note mandate—requiring suppliers to issue digital documentation—opened the door. Alternative fuels, particularly liquefied natural gas, drove early adoption because of their regulatory complexity and administrative weight. Carlsen noted that many shipowners now benefit from the platform without realizing it, while others who have seen the operational data are now requesting it from their suppliers as a condition of doing business.

The company has raised $9 million in total funding, including $6.8 million in March 2026. In May, it acquired Teqplay, a firm specializing in digital twins of vessel and cargo movements, expanding Ofiniti's ability to connect ship movements, port activity, and bunkering operations into a unified operational picture. Carlsen joined in August to drive growth on the buyer side of the market—the shipowners and operators who consume the fuel.

From his years running DFDS, Carlsen understands what transparency delivers. At DFDS, an internal program called "every minute counts" recognized that faster port turnarounds let ships slow down at sea and burn less fuel. Knowing exactly when barges arrive, when they depart, and when the last cargo reaches the vessel matters enormously. Late barges delay departures with cascading financial and operational consequences. Mismatches between stated deliveries and actual fuel received have caused engine failures. The platform's data allows owners to verify delivery metrics after the fact—comparing what a barge was present for against what was invoiced—and to trace fuel problems back to their source. These are problems Carlsen can speak to from direct experience, and they form the core of his pitch to other shipowners.

Geographic expansion is now underway. Ofiniti has already moved into the ARA hub, West Africa, and Scandinavia. From Singapore, it is working outward into the South China Sea, with Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Thailand as near-term targets and China under exploration. Two of Hong Kong's top five suppliers are running trials. The company is also rolling out across the United States and Panama with an existing customer, and the Teqplay acquisition brought it the first and third largest U.S. ports by gross tonnage through Greater Houston. Raguse said much of the growth potential lies with the global top ten suppliers, and Ofiniti is in active conversations with players in that bracket. The company is also monitoring several acquisition targets.

The bunker industry has long carried a reputation for opacity and malpractice. Increased transparency is not for everyone—shadow fleet operators, which have drawn attention this year due to U.S. action against Iran and sanctions on Russia, are unlikely to adopt the platform. But Carlsen argues there is a substantial market of legitimate operators who want to demonstrate compliance with regulations and distance themselves from illicit activity. For those operators, transparency becomes a commercial advantage. The question now is whether Ofiniti can convert that advantage into the scale it projects—and whether the industry's traditional resistance to visibility will hold or finally give way.