In International Shipping News 21/10/2016
The mandatory adoption of mass flow meters (MFM) on bunker barges on 1 January 2017 will likely reduce the number of Singapore accredited bunker suppliers, Hans Staal, global bunker director of Brightoil, told Argus. “Some suppliers will not be willing or able to change their business models to match a mandatory MFM setup for fuel oil barges”, Staal said.
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) approved the first MFM for use in June 2012. But as of this October, 108 of the 223 bunker barges operating in Singapore were not approved for the use of MFMs. Seventeen bunkering companies have used MFMs for at least one bunker delivery. Brightoil currently owns and operates five barges in Singapore. Three of the barges, 7,000 dwt each, are approved for MFM use and two, 4,100 dwt each, will be MFM approved the end of 2017. MPA estimates the cost of a meter with installation at about $158,000-216,000 and yearly maintenance cost at about $14,000.
As of 18 October, there were 58 accredited suppliers in Singapore, down from 63 suppliers in 2014 and 59 in 2015. In the first nine months of the year, heavy bunker sales in Singapore reached 35.03mn t, up 9pc compared with the same period last year. The port sold 1.51mn t of marine gasoil, up 15pc. Brightoil was ranked the 23rd-largest Singapore bunker supplier by volume sold in 2015. In addition to Singapore, Brightoil sells bunkers in the Chinese ports of Shenzhen, Shanghai, Ningbo, Zhoushan and Qingdao.
Source: Argus
