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Years of planning and preparation by the ocean shipping, oil and trucking industries are set to pay off as adequate supplies of diesel fuel are expected to be ready now that an International Maritime Organization mandate for the use of lower polluting fuel on ocean vessels is about to take effect.

Shippers have fewer than three weeks until new rules kick in forcing them to burn cleaner fuels, but the regulations are already redefining key trade routes in the global oil-product markets.

Ships are struggling to obtain the fuels they need to test them in time for the start of sweeping environmental legislation that takes effect in six weeks’ time, a situation that could ultimately result in vessels having to temporarily halt trading.

WASHINGTON — The oil refining industry is ready for an upcoming mandate on the type of fuel to be used by the maritime industry, but shippers are scrambling to get ready as the deadline draws near.

They may still be six months away, but new rules on marine fuels are already sending shock waves through the little-known world of refinery feedstocks.

The looming adoption of a mandate that will require maritime vessels to burn cleaner fuel is projected to put upward pressure on diesel prices next year, but transportation experts are more concerned about how the change will affect the supply of diesel fuel for trucks.

ATLANTA — Incoming fuel regulations and political gridlock will bring unwelcome expenses and headaches to shipping and trucking companies through next year, according to one policy expert who spoke at SMC3 Jump Start 2019 on Jan. 29.

Yildirim Holding AS is seeking buyers for its stake in the world’s third-biggest container shipper as the family-owned Turkish company presses ahead with a plan to acquire Ports America Holdings Inc., a U.S. maritime-terminal operator.