New 250kW Hydrogen Fuel Cell Prepped for Maritime
Sydrogen Energy Pte. Ltd. (Sydrogen), a Singapore-based fuel cell components and systems company, announced its entry into the maritime market with a 250 kW fuel cell power module. Developed in a collaboration signed with Shanghai Hydrogen Propulsion Technology Co., Ltd. (SHPT), this system aims to accelerate the adoption of hydrogen technology in the shipping industry, supporting Singapore's maritime decarbonization goals."Through a slew of initiatives both on shore, and at sea, the MPA is working towards the digitalization and decarbonization of the global maritime community," said TEO Eng Dih, Chief Executive of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA).
SEA\LNG Welcomes Vancouver Fraser Port
The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority has joined SEA\LNG, the multi-sector industry coalition aiming to accelerate the widespread adoption of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a marine fuel. Vancouver Fraser Port is the first North America port member to join the industry group.The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority is the federal agency of the Port of Vancouver, Canada’s largest port, and the fourth port member to join the coalition, alongside Port of Rotterdam, Yokohama-Kawasaki International Port Corporation (YKIP), and most recently the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA).
MOL Signs LNG Charter with Pavilion Gas
Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) has announced that it has signed a long-term charter contract to operate Asia's largest (12,000m3-class) LNG bunkering vessel in Singapore, the world's largest fuel supply port, with Pavilion Gas, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pavilion Energy.Demand for LNG as bunker fuel is expected to grow on a global scale as stricter SOx regulations take effect in January 2020. Singapore's Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) is focusing considerable effort on development of an LNG fuel supply infrastructure and implementing policies…
Singapore MPA, Société Générale Join LNG Advocacy Group
The liquefied natural gas (LNG) advocacy group SEA\LNG has announced the appointment of Paul Taylor representing Société Générale and Capt M. Segar representing MPA (The Maritime and Port Authority) of Singapore as Directors of SEA\LNG Ltd.Following elections last December, Tahir Faruqui and Xavier Pfeuty also join the SEA\LNG Board as new directors representing Shell and Total Marine Fuels respectively.Welcoming them to the Board, reappointed Chairman Peter Keller said: “2018 was an exciting year for the LNG industry and our coalition. As our membership grew to 36 we welcomed Société Générale as our first financial institution and additional ports…
Ship Fuel: Singapore Bunker Volumes Dip, 2019 Uncertain
Sales of marine fuels in Singapore, the world's biggest ship fueling port by volume, totaled 49.8 million tonnes in 2018, down 2 percentfrom a record the year before, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said on Monday.December sales volumes of marine fuels, also known as bunkers, reached an 11-month high of 4.308 million tonnes, up 10 percent from November and the second-highest for the year, the data showed.The strong month helped lift Singapore's 2018 marine fuel sales figures to the second highest on record, the data showed."Singapore retained its position as the world's top bunkering port in 2018…
Scrubber Manufacturers Slams Singapore Open-Loop Scrubbers Ban
Exhaust Gas Cleaning Systems Association (EGCSA) has attacked Singapore's restrictions on open-loop versions of the systems as "disappointing" and "politically motivated."The scrubber manufacturing industry body said in a press release: "The recent announcement by the outgoing CEO of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) banning the discharge of process water from open loop scrubbers for vessels visiting Singapore came without prior notice or discussion with the IMO despite the fact that the Singapore MPA is a signatory to MARPOL Annex VI."The MPA provided neither scientific evidence for its decision nor was the industry invited to consultationit said.
Singapore Funds Green Marine Fuel Program
Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) has allocated about USD 3.64 million under the Green Energy Programme to support the development and use of cleaner alternative marine fuels such as biofuels and methanol. Senior Minister of State, Dr Lam Pin Min announced initiatives by Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said that companies can use the fund in their research and development in alternative fuels to meet future greenhouse gas emissions regulations.He said, to ready the Singapore bunker industry ahead of the International Maritime Organization’s 0.5 per cent global sulphur cap taking effect from January 2020 and to support R&D in alternative fuels…
Four Bunker Barges Seized in Singapore over Unpaid Debt
Singapore law firm asks for vessels to be arrested; bunker barges owned by Vermont UM Shipping. Four marine refuelling barges owned and operated by Vermont UM Shipping Pte Ltd were seized in Singapore on Monday night, according to the website of Singapore's Supreme Court. Singaporean law firm Rajah & Tann seized the vessels over unpaid claims on behalf of its client, Malayan Banking Berhad, or Maybank, said a source with direct knowledge of the matter who declined to be identified as the person is not authorised to speak to the media. The source declined to specify the amount of the claims against Vermont UM Shipping.
Singapore Revokes Transocean Oil's Bunker Licence
Singapore's Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) said on Monday it had revoked Transocean Oil's bunker fuel supply licence in the Port of Singapore, effective immediately. MPA said it had conducted checks on Transocean in March and April as part its efforts to ensure the integrity of bunkering operations at the port and found "falsifications of records and discrepancies in the stock movement logbooks on board the bunker tankers" operated by the company. Transocean Oil, which was formed in 2003 and operates a fleet of thirteen bunkering barges, according to its website, was not immediately available to comment.
Universal Energy Faces Millions in Claims
Universal Energy entered voluntary liquidation on Oct 3, tightening credit in Singapore's bunker fuel market. Shipping fuel suppliers are filing millions of dollars in claims over unpaid marine fuel bills against now defunct Singapore-based peer Universal Energy, formerly one of the city state's largest bunker suppliers but which has now entered liquidation. Universal Energy, ranked as Singapore's third-largest bunker fuel supplier by volume in 2016, had its shipping fuel licences revoked by the Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) in August for actions that could give a false impression of how much fuel it was delivering to buyers.
Mercuria, PetroChina Selling Offshore Stored Fuel Oil
Three to four tankers storing fuel oil, down from eight or nine. Independent trading house Mercuria and Chinese state oil giant PetroChina are selling fuel oil stored in vessels off Singapore and southern Malaysia on strong demand from the shipping and power sector, several trade sources said on Friday. The number of vessels storing fuel oil has halved from a month ago as Mercuria and PetroChina may have resold cargoes purchased over March to May, the sources said. Geneva-based Mercuria and PetroChina bought over 6 million tonnes of fuel oil over those months in oil pricing agency S&P Global Platts' trading period known as market-on-close (MOC).
MPA Honors ABS
ABS has been awarded the Offshore & Marine Engineering Award by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA). This award recognizes organizations that have made significant contributions toward the development of Singapore’s offshore and marine engineering sector. “ABS is honored to receive this award recognizing our leading role in Singapore’s marine and offshore industries,” says ABS Chairman, President and CEO Christopher J. Wiernicki. The MPA award recognizes ABS for its breakthrough work in the areas of innovation, safety, and environmental…
Singapore Bunker Operator Fined $57,000
Singapore-based bunker barge operator New Ocean Maritime was fined 81,000 Singapore dollars ($57,100) on Jan. 17 for providing services without a licence between Jan. 3, 2015 and March 28, 2015, the Singapore port authority said on Tuesday. The company was also found to have used the bunker craft operator licence of Seaquest Tanker, another Singapore-based bunker services provider, which had its permit revoked last year on April 26 for erroneous record-keeping. Singapore is the world's largest ship refuelling port, with thousands of vessels calling every year to take on bunkers, as shipping fuel is known in the industry.
MPA Grants 51 Companies With Bunker Survey Licence
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) has issued 51 companies with bunker survey licence to operate in the Port of Singapore. The licence is valid from 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2017. Since the licensing scheme was first announced in October 2014, MPA has been engaging the bunker surveying industry on the details of the scheme. The licensing scheme will raise the standards of bunker surveying companies and allow MPA to have greater regulatory oversight of bunker surveying companies and bunker surveyors. “This new licensing…
Asia Fuel Oil-Traders on Sidelines Awaiting Price Drop
Asian fuel oil traders sat on the sidelines on Tuesday as a fall in crude prices made them wary of taking positions in case prices moved lower. Fuel oil prices have fallen by $11-12 per tonne since Friday's close, continuing a volatile period that saw fuel oil prices gain by more than 5 percent at the start of last week. See-sawing fuel oil prices have unnerved traders who see no clear direction in the market. Oil prices have lost more than 4 percent since Sept. 8, partly on renewed concern about global oversupply following an increase in U.S. drilling activity. "All of us are waiting for prices to come down," a Singapore-based fuel oil trader told Reuters on Tuesday.
MPA Revokes Bunker Supplier Licences of AC Oil
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) has revoked the bunker supplier and bunker craft operator licences of AC Oil Pte Ltd with effect from 29 July 2016. AC Oil Pte Ltd will no longer be allowed to operate as a bunker supplier or bunker craft operator in the Port of Singapore. As part of MPA’s on-going regulatory efforts to ensure the safety, reliability and quality of bunker supplies in Singapore, checks were conducted on AC Oil Pte Ltd in May and June 2016. MPA’s investigations into the company revealed discrepancies and wrongful declarations in the records kept on board their bunker tankers.
Asia Pushes LNG as a Bunker Fuel
An increasing number of ships and vessels are using liquefied natural gas or LNG as a clean fuel to comply with the regulations laid by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) across emission control areas. LNG as a ship fuel reduces the emission of sulphur dioxide by 90-95% compared to the conventional petroleum fuels. This factor has propelled the growth of the global LNG bunkering market, says Transparency Market Research (TMR). The market stood at 70 kilo tons in 2013 and is anticipated to expand phenomenally at a CAGR of 63.6% during the period between 2014 and 2025. The overall market is projected to reach 22,540 kilo tons by 2025.
SSA Showcases OSV Sector with OSV@Vivo 'Open House'
OSV@Vivo has been taken to the heart of the Singapore public with an anticipated 4,000 visitors, expected to throng the two state-of-the-art Offshore Support Vessels (OSV) “Pacific Legacy” and “VOS Prince” moored at local shopping mall Vivocity Waterfront Promenade from 21 to 23 April 2016. Local institutes of higher learning are lending their support to this inaugural event with some 600 students from the Institute of Technical Education and Ngee Ann Polytechnic already registered to attend. This industry-led project, spearheaded by the Singapore Shipping Association (SSA) and held in conjunction with Singapore Maritime Week…
Keppel, BG Group JV to supply LNG Bunkers in Singapore
Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd (Keppel O&M), through its wholly-owned subsidiary KS Investments Pte Ltd (KSI), and BG Group plc (BG Group) have been selected to supply Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) bunker to vessels in the Port of Singapore. The joint bid submitted by Keppel O&M and BG Group for the LNG bunker supplier licence is one of the two top bids selected by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA). The awarding of the licence is in line with the Port of Singapore's plans to launch the LNG Bunkering Pilot Programme in 2017. Keppel…
Asia Fuel Oil Dragged Down by Crude Drop
Asia's fuel oil prices continued their downward trend towards new seven-year lows and at levels not seen since early 2005 amid a growing global oil glut that saw benchmark crude prices extend their losses for the 7th session and nearing their eleven-year trough. The contango curve for the more actively traded 380-cst fuel widened while its differentials deteriorated after Monday trading. Conversely, the contango curve for the 180-cst fuel oil narrowed and its differentials improved. "Seems like the downside is getting limited," said one Singapore-based trader.
