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SIBCON 2020: Senior Minister highlights ‘quality resilience and sustainability’ for bunkering sector

‘We will continue to review and adopt a multi-pronged approach to uphold Singapore as a trusted and quality bunkering hub,’ states Chee Hong Tat in opening address.

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Chee Hong Tat Final

Singapore’s bunkering sector will need to adapt and transform to ride out the current crisis, says its Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Ministry of Transport at the 21st edition of Singapore International Bunkering Conference, also known as SIBCON 2020, on Tuesday (6 October).

Chee Hong Tat outlined three priority areas, namely quality, resilience, and sustainability as factors the republic’s marine refuelling sector will need to adopt in order for it to remain successful.

Upholding Quality and Trust

“Throughout the many disruptions, one thing remains constant: the industry must continue to provide trusted and quality bunkering services,” states SMS Chee during his opening address.

“Singapore is committed to maintaining the integrity of our bunkering sector. We are not perfect. We have our share of black sheep and cases of malpractice, but what is clear is that we will not hesitate to take firm action and revoke bunkering licences of errant companies.”

He notes Singapore recently launched the Singapore Standard for bunker cargo delivery from oil terminal to bunker tanker using Mass Flow Meter; and the Technical Reference for meter verification using Master Mass Flow Meter.

“We will continue to review and adopt a multi-pronged approach to uphold Singapore as a trusted and quality bunkering hub,” says SMS Chee.

“Besides regulations and swift enforcement measures, we will also accelerate efforts in digitalisation of transmission of data between buyers and sellers, to make bunker transactions more secure.”

Enhancing Resilience through Digitalisation

SMS Chee, meanwhile, said there is room to do more to help Singapore’s maritime industry to become truly digital. He emphasised on the transformation of business processes and operations to improve productivity and lower handling costs.

He shared the launch of a third Sea Transport Industry Digital Plan, or IDP, covering the bunkering sector where $30,000 has been allocated for each SME per year to cover up to 70% of adoption costs such as software subscription, professional services and training, as well as up to 50% of their hardware costs.

The use of electronic bunker delivery notes (or e-BDN) will also automate the transmission of Mass Flow Meter data to delivery notes.

“We have made good progress. At least two bunkering companies are now conducting their proof of concept to fully integrate and automate MFM data into delivery notes. We look forward to more companies coming on board,” updates SMS Chee.

“Using e-BDN not only cuts down the number of administrative and manual steps required from vessels, it also makes bunkering transactions more secure by reducing the opportunities for manipulation of data during the transmission process.”

Transforming the Bunkering Sector to be Sustainable

SMS Chee further states LNG as a viable transitional fuel that ships could consume to meet IMO’s 2050 goals; as such, Singapore has been developing its ecosystem and infrastructure to support LNG bunkering.

“MPA has issued two LNG bunker supplier licences, and co-developed standards and procedures in LNG bunkering, including safe simultaneous operations (SIMOPS), with the industry and other authorities. To date, we have performed more than 270 truck-to-ship LNG bunkering operations,” he says.

“For ship-to-ship LNG bunkering, we have awarded $6 million for building of 2 LNG bunker vessels. Ship-to-ship LNG bunkering will be ready by the first quarter of 2021.

“My wife and I were honoured to participate in a virtual ceremony for FueLNG Bellina, the first of two LNG bunker vessels to be delivered latest by early next year.”

He expects Singapore to have an LNG bunker supply capacity of up to 1 million tonnes per annum from 2021, translating to about 300 ship-to-ship LNG bunkering operations per annum to large-LNG-fuelled vessels.

In order to further expand the business of LNG bunkering, MPA will also be launching a Request for Proposal in the coming weeks to issue additional LNG bunker supplier licences to support the growing demand for LNG bunkers.

Moving beyond LNG, SMS Chee shared Singapore will continue to invest in the search for green bunker fuels of the future.

“To accelerate efforts on the R&D front for decarbonisation, MPA & SMI have commenced the ‘Biofuel Compatibility Study for Singapore Harbour Craft’,” he notes.

“The study is led by the Nanyang Technological University’s Maritime Energy and Sustainable Development Centre of Excellence.”

The Republic, through MPA, will also be signing a Memorandum of Cooperation on a future fuels port network with the Port of Rotterdam and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Japan.

“The MoC will allow for the development of a roadmap on the adoption of future marine fuels to support decarbonisation, and the coordination of possible joint bunkering pilot runs with identified shipping lines between ports.”

A series of SIBCON 2020 related articles have been earlier written by Manifold Times:

Related: Infineum explains: ISO 8217:2017 should be viewed as a ‘minimum performance benchmark’ for VLSFOs
Related: Interview: Hafnia shares IMO 2020 preparations, promotes transparency for bunkering operations
Related: VPS: Shipowners face ‘tricky situation’ to balance VLSFO shelf life and wax appearance temperature
Related: VPS: Big data analysis reveals link between Covid-19 and spike in low flashpoint MGO off-spec cases
Related: Interview: Total Marine Fuels Global Solutions discusses sector growth, IMO 2020, and future plans
Related: SIBCON 2020: Evolution to a ‘completely different’ bunkering industry event, says organiser
Related: Singapore: SIBCON 2020 bunkering event to be hosted virtually

 

Photo credit: SIBCON 2020
Published: 6 October, 2020

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Newbuilding

Yang Ming names third 15,500 TEU LNG dual-fuel boxship in South Korea

Company held a naming ceremony at HD HHI shipyard in Ulsan, South Korea, for “YM Wayfinder”, the third vessel in its series of LNG dual-fuel container vessels built by HD HHI.

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Yang Ming names third 15,500 TEU LNG dual-fuel boxship in South Korea

Taiwanese shipping firm Yang Ming Marine Transport Corporation (Yang Ming) on Friday (26 June) said it held a naming ceremony at the HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HD HHI) shipyard in Ulsan, South Korea, for YM Wayfinder.

It is the third vessel in its series of 15,500 TEU-class LNG dual-fuel container vessels built by HD HHI. 

Mrs. Wei-Nung Kao, the spouse of Yang Ming’s Chairman, Mr. Feng-Ming Tsai, was invited as the Godmother to officially name the vessel and perform the ceremonial cord-cutting.

As additional LNG dual-fuel vessels join the fleet, Yang Ming will enhance operational efficiency, strengthen service competitiveness, and further reduce fleet carbon intensity to provide customers with low-carbon transportation services.

This series of vessels built by HD HHI has a length overall (LOA) of 364.97 metres, a breadth of 51 metres, and a capacity of approximately 15,600 TEU. 

In alignment with the global net-zero emissions target by 2050, Yang Ming has been actively expanding its energy-efficient fleet and is the first container shipping company in Taiwan to operate vessels utilising LNG as an alternative fuel. 

Equipped with high-pressure dual-fuel main engines that run on both LNG and low-sulphur fuel oil, this series of vessels primarily utilises LNG as fuel upon delivery, which immediately reduces greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 20% compared to conventional fuel oil. 

Two sister vessels in the LNG dual-fuel series, YM Willpower and YM Worthiness, are already in service and primarily operate on LNG. To date, the two vessels have bunkered more than 11,158 metric tonnes (mt) of LNG, which is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 12,532 mt.

YM Wayfinder is scheduled to commence service on the Asia-North Europe FE3 service on 1 July. 

The vessel’s deployment will enable Yang Ming to maximise slot utilization and enhance the competitiveness of its service network while fulfilling the company’s commitment to providing comprehensive, efficient, and energy-saving transportation services for customers. 

The comprehensive port rotation for the FE3 service is: Qingdao – Ningbo – Yantian – Singapore – Felixstowe – Antwerp – Hamburg.

 

Photo credit: Yang Ming Marine Transport Corporation
Published: 29 June, 2026

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Ammonia

Pilbara Ports confirms plans for first ammonia bunkering trial in late 2026

This comes following Fortescue and CMB.TECH announcing their landmark agreement to introduce dual-fuelled ammonia bulk-carriers to the Pilbara.

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Pilbara Ports confirms plans for first ammonia bunkering trial in late 2026

Australia’s Pilbara Ports Authority on Friday (26 June) confirmed progress of its plans for the first ammonia bunkering trial at the Port of Port Hedland later this year.

On its website, the port authority said ammonia-fuelled vessels are expected to begin visiting Pilbara as early as this year. 

This comes following Fortescue and CMB.TECH announcing their landmark agreement to introduce dual-fuelled ammonia bulk-carriers to the Pilbara, a significant milestone in accelerating the transition to low-carbon shipping.

The port authority said the announcement reflects the growing global momentum behind ammonia as a marine fuel and the collective effort across industry to decarbonise supply chains. 

On 22 June, Fortescue said it signed an agreement with CMB.TECH for the charter of up to 12 ammonia-capable vessels.

Under the agreement, Fortescue will charter a fleet of 12 Newcastlemax dry bulk vessels (210,000 dwt) from Bocimar, CMB.TECH’s dry bulk shipping operator.

Up to three of the vessels will be delivered with dual-fuel ammonia engines and are expected to enter service by the end of 2026. The remaining nine vessels will be ammonia-ready and can be converted to operate on ammonia in the future.

“At Pilbara Ports, we’re proud to be supporting this transition, with plans progressing for our first ammonia refuelling trial at the Port of Port Hedland later this year,” the port authority said.

“This work will help ensure the Pilbara is ready – with the infrastructure, safety frameworks and operational capability needed to support the next generation of cleaner vessels.”

 

Photo credit: Pilbara Ports AuthorityPublished: 29 June, 2026

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Alternative Fuels

Evos Rotterdam starts construction on methanol and ethanol expansion project

Once operational in early 2028, the expansion will give Evos Rotterdam greater capacity to handle methanol and ethanol for industrial customers, as well as for low-carbon marine fuels and bunkering.

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Evos Rotterdam starts construction on methanol and ethanol expansion project

Evos Rotterdam on Thursday (25 June) said it has held the ground-breaking ceremony for its methanol and ethanol expansion project at the Port of Rotterdam, formally starting the construction phase of a major investment in additional terminal capacity.

The project comprises five new storage tanks with a combined gross capacity of 67,500 cubic metres, a new pump station and a new jetty, developed in close cooperation with the Port of Rotterdam. 

Once operational in early 2028, the expansion will give Evos Rotterdam greater capacity to handle methanol and ethanol for industrial customers, as well as for the developing market in cleaner, low-carbon marine fuels and bunkering.

Daan Vos, CEO of Evos, said: “This ground-breaking ceremony is the starting point for the construction phase of a project that has required close cooperation, technical focus and long-term commitment. 

“I would like to thank the Port of Rotterdam, our contractors and all project partners who joined us and who have helped bring the project to this stage. 

“This expansion strengthens Rotterdam’s position in methanol and ethanol logistics, including low-carbon methanol, and gives our customers the capacity they need as markets continue to change.”

Christiaan Kop, Managing Director Evos Rotterdam, said: “Thank you to everyone who joined us to officially start this project. It was a strong beginning for an excellent project. 

“I would also like to thank the project team for helping to organise the ceremony so well. The team has shown the professionalism and confidence this project deserves.”

 

Photo credit: Evos Rotterdam
Published: 29 June, 2026

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