Alternative Fuels

Singapore bunker volume down by 4.3% on year but biofuel sales surpasses LNG

Bunker sales in 2022 included about 140,000 tonnes of biofuel blends over more than 90 biofuel bunkering operations, surpassing the 16,000 tonnes in LNG bunker sales.

Published

3 years ago

January 16, 2023

Admin

While total volume declined by 4.3% year-on-year in Singapore, bunker sales in 2022 included about 140,000 tonnes of biofuel blends over more than 90 biofuel bunkering operations, surpassing the 16,000 tonnes in Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) bunker sales.

This was one of the main highlights in a speech by Mr Chee Hong Tat, Senior Minister of State for Finance and Transport, who was the Guest-of-Honour at the annual Singapore Maritime Foundation New Year Conversations event on Friday (13 January). He spoke on the developments and 2022 performance of Maritime Singapore.

He said Singapore remained a favoured location for bunkers and has made progress in supplying alternative fuels, such as biofuels, to support maritime decarbonisation. A total of 47.9 million tonnes of bunker sales was registered in 2022.

Mr Chee added MPA has also developed a framework for licensed bunker suppliers to supply biofuel to vessels within the Port of Singapore.

“A provisional standard for marine biofuel specifications, for blends of up to B50, was developed in consultation with industry and researchers to support trials by the maritime community on carbon emissions reduction potentials of biofuels. Currently, commercial sales of biofuel blends of up to B24 are available for the maritime sector in Singapore,” he said.

“In December 2022, MPA and the Energy Market Authority also launched an Expression of Interest (EOI), calling for proposals to build, own and operate low or zero-carbon ammonia power generation and bunkering solutions in Jurong Island. The EOI is open until end April 2023.”

Growing our International Maritime Centre and MarineTech Ecosystem

As a leading International Maritime Centre, Maritime Singapore is home to a diverse range of maritime businesses, with more than 170 international shipping groups as well as other maritime players in the areas of finance, insurance, cybersecurity, shipbroking, law and arbitration. Despite global inflationary pressures and supply chain disruptions, our International Maritime Centre has expanded steadily in 2022.

Last year, total business spending by shipping companies exceeded S$4.3 billion, and more than 30 companies established or expanded their operations in Singapore, supported under programmes by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA). This is more than 30% higher than the number of companies which expanded operations or set up in Singapore in 2021.

Singapore was also recognised as the top international maritime city in the Xinhua-Baltic International Shipping Centre Development Index and Menon Economics-DNV’s Leading Maritime Cities of the World report.

MPA is working with the industry, research, and the investment community to grow our MarineTech ecosystem. The number of start-ups under Port Innovation Ecosystem Reimagined @BLOCK71 (PIER71TM) has grown from 17 in 2018 when PIER71TM was launched, to close to 100 today. These start-ups have raised overS$50 million in investment in the past four years, and four start-ups have also expanded their technology solutions abroad. MPA will continue to work with our partners to reach the goal of 150 MarineTech start-ups in Singapore by 2025.

Container, Cargo Throughput and Vessel Arrival Tonnage in 2022

The Port of Singapore is essential to Singapore’s connectivity and trade with the rest of the world. In 2022, Singapore’s position as a trusted, global transshipment hub was strengthened amidst challenging global economic conditions. The Port of Singapore remained resilient compared to the decline in global container trade of about 3 to 4% in 2022. Despite the global slowdown in production and consumption, Singapore’s container throughput in 2022 reached 37.3 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), the second-highest throughput on record, and a slight decline of 0.7% from the record throughput of 37.6 million TEUs in 2021. A total of 577.7 million tonnes of cargo in 2022 was handled. Vessel arrival tonnage hit 2.83 billion Gross Tonnage (GT).

Singapore Registry of Ships among Top Registries

The Singapore Registry of Ships (SRS) continues to rank as one of the top five largest ship registries globally, with a high-quality fleet. The total tonnage of ships under the Singapore flag in 2022 was close to 96 million GT, about a 4% increase from 2021. In 2022, 25 Singapore-flagged ships from 13 companies received Green Ship certificates under the Green Ship Programme.

Since 2011, over 650 ships have been recognised under the programme, which will continue to evolve to support the decarbonisation of the maritime sector. The SRS expects to see a steady rise in green fleet, given Maritime Singapore’s continued efforts to attract green ships into the SRS through co-developing standards and pilots with research institutes and classification societies.

Details of Singapore’s port performance for the last ten years, from 2013 to 2022, are listed in Annex A.

Singapore’s International and Regional Efforts

MPA continues to champion issues globally through active engagement and multi-stakeholder collaboration with international organisations, including the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities, the International Hydrographic Organization and the International Mobile Satellite Organization.

In December 2022, Singapore’s Tan Hanqiang was appointed Vice-Chair of the IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee which will review the greenhouse gas emission reduction pathways and strategies at the IMO. The appointment is a testament to Singapore’s long-standing efforts to bring parties together for consensus-building at the international level.

Singapore is also working with countries, research and industry stakeholders to develop Green and Digital Shipping Corridors (GDSC), which serve as valuable testbeds to trial new technologies and fuels in a sandbox environment, gain operational and safety experience, optimise route planning, prior to scaling up for wider adoption. To-date, Singapore has announced a GDSC collaboration with the Port of Rotterdam to establish the world’s longest green and digital shipping corridor, and is working with the Port of Los Angeles, the Port of Long Beach, and C40 Cities towards a corridor between Singapore and the San Pedro Bay port complex.

The Next Bound of Growth for Maritime Singapore

Maritime Singapore will capture new opportunities and drive further growth through continued investments in capability-building, talent development and innovation, and anchored by strong tripartite partnerships.

Photo credit: Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore
Published: 16 January, 2023

Alternative Fuels

ICS report: LNG and biofuels seen as most viable marine fuels over next decade

This was followed closely by HFO combined with abatement technologies while methanol ranked in fourth place, according to ICS’s new Maritime Barometer Report.

Published

1 day ago

June 26, 2026

Admin

A new report by the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), published on Tuesday (23 June) found that LNG and biofuels are seen as the most viable marine fuels over the next decade.

This was followed closely by HFO (Heavy Fuel Oil) combined with abatement technologies while methanol ranked in fourth place.

The report found that in 2025 to 2026, maritime leaders are displaying a preference for traditional fuels that have established supply mechanisms.

The ICS Maritime Barometer Report 2025–2026 surveyed C-suite level leaders, shipowners, and operators worldwide to identify the key risk areas shaping shipping.

Despite slight decline, LNG shared top spot with biofuels as one of three most viable future fuels over the next decade.

LNG maintained its position as a joint leading fuel in the Barometer, with roughly 51.35% of leaders naming it as one of the most viable fuels over the next decade.

“This is despite a marginal softening in sentiment amongst maritime leaders compared to last year’s survey, reflecting its continued role as the most immediately scalable alternative within the current fuel mix,” the report said.

However, the report noted that this positioning is increasingly shaped not just by infrastructure maturity, but by how geopolitical instability translates into fuel-specific perceptions of security, routing exposure, and price volatility across global trade flows.

This is particularly evident in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East, where LNG’s role is reinforced through continued investment in import and bunkering infrastructure.

Singapore remains the world’s leading LNG bunkering hub, supported by expanding small-scale supply chains and vessel availability, while South Korea and China are rapidly scaling receiving and bunkering capacity to support both shipping and power demand growth.

Biofuels record one of the sharpest increases in sentiment across the future fuels landscape to match LNG at 51.35% in this year’s report.

“This could reflect a shift driven less by structural conviction and more by operational response to heightened uncertainty in global energy and trade systems,” it said.

Their growing prominence could be closely linked to the increasing attractiveness of low-friction compliance options in a context where alternative fuels remain constrained by uneven infrastructure development, fragmented regulatory alignment, and delayed capital deployment across key regions.

Compared with LNG, which is shaped by infrastructure lock-in and geopolitical price exposure, biofuels offer immediate operational flexibility.

Japan has emerged as a key driver of marine biofuel adoption, with government-backed trials involving major shipping lines such as NYK testing biofuel blends on international routes. China has also expanded pilot programmes using biodiesel and waste-derived fuels in coastal shipping, reflecting a pragmatic approach to emissions reduction in regional trade flows.

Note: The ‘ICS Maritime Barometer Report 2025–2026’ can be viewed here.

Photo credit: william william on Unsplash
Published: 26 June, 2026

Biofuel

ExxonMobil completes first sea trial of bio bunker fuel blend made from FAME

Firm supplied a B30 VLSFO, made using FAME Distillation Residue, to Wallenius Wilhelmsen’s vehicle carrier “Titus” in Zeebrugge.

Published

2 days ago

June 25, 2026

Admin

ExxonMobil completes first sea trial of bio bunker fuel blend made from FAME

US oil major ExxonMobil on Tuesday (23 June) said it has successfully supplied a B30 0.50% sulphur marine residual fuel blend (B30 VLSFO), made using fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) Distillation Residue, to Wallenius Wilhelmsen.

The bio marine fuel blend was bunkered by the vehicle carrier Titus in Zeebrugge ahead of the sea trial, marking a significant milestone in ExxonMobil’s journey towards supplying the marine industry with lower GHG emission fuels.

The B30 VLSFO fuel meets the RMG380 residual fuel oil classification and complies with ISO 8217:2017 with the exception of the bio blend component. It shares similar drop-in properties to a B30 VLSFO made with FAME produced from used cooking oil (UCOME).

The fuel has the potential to reduce lifecycle GHG emissions compared to conventional fuels.

Importantly, marine fuels made with FAME Distillation Residue have a major advantage over FAME itself, as there is currently no competition for this material from other transport sectors.

Additionally, when compared to FAME in VLSFO blends, several key properties of the FAME Distillation Residue are closer to the VLSFO component, such as density and viscosity. This is beneficial as users will see a lower reduction in viscosity than that of a FAME in VLSFO blend, which makes it comparatively easier to handle onboard ships. Further, extensive lab testing has shown good compatibility between petroleum-based VLSFOs and this B30 VLSFO made with FAME Distillation Residue.

The sea trial was successfully completed with no operational concerns. The B30 VLSFO batch was bunkered without issue. The onboard storage and handling of B30 VLSFO did not result in any filtration or purification issues. Engine performance remained stable, as confirmed by comparing key parameters recorded in the performance and condition monitoring reports before, during and after the trial.

“This successful sea trial highlights a practical, cost-effective pathway for customers to reduce their lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions while maintaining operational performance. By leveraging FAME Distillation Residue, ExxonMobil can offer a drop-in solution that supports compliance with evolving EU regulations and helps operators advance their lower GHG emission goals confidence,” said Gideon Simmelink, Account Manager Marine Fuels, ExxonMobil.

“Wallenius Wilhelmsen has a long-standing collaboration with ExxonMobil. This trial supports our efforts to assess new fuel options and advance our decarbonization ambitions,” said Kari Haugen, Senior Manager Energy Sourcing, Wallenius Wilhelmsen.

Subject to regional availability, ExxonMobil offers a range of bio marine fuel blends (Bio VLSFO, Bio ULSFO, Bio MGO and Bio HSFO), which we have supplied into the ARA (Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp) region (VLSFO and USLFO), the UK (MGO and HSFO) and Singapore (VLSFO).

These solutions are designed to help meet the diverse needs of the shipping industry while helping support GHG emission reductions. Always consult with engine manufacturers as OEMs may limit bio blend percentages or specific bio components for certain engine designs.

Photo credit: ExxonMobil
Published: 25 June, 2026

Biofuel

G2 Ocean rolls out book-and-claim service backed by biofuel voyages

Company has launched Emission Reduction Certificates, a new service enabling customers to reduce emissions associated with their transportation services through the use of marine biofuel.

Published

2 days ago

June 25, 2026

Admin

G2 Ocean rolls out book-and-claim service backed by biofuel voyages

Ship operator G2 Ocean on Wednesday (24 June) said it has launched Emission Reduction Certificates, a new service enabling customers to reduce emissions associated with their transportation services.

The service allows cargo owners and transport buyers to reduce their emissions from transportation by purchasing verified emission reductions generated from the use of biofuel in G2 Ocean’s operations.

The service is available to any company with emissions from transportation (Scope 3). It does not require cargo to be transported on specific low-emission G2 Ocean voyages.

For most companies, emissions from shipping are classified as indirect emissions (Scope 3) and sit outside their direct control. Reducing these emissions requires collaboration across the value chain.

Emission Reduction Certificates use a book-and-claim model, enabling customers to invest in emission reductions linked directly to maritime transport and to account for them in their climate reporting. The revenue will be reinvested in new biofuel voyages, helping create a cost-sharing model for biofuel and narrowing the gap between biofuel and regular fuel.

“Supply chain decarbonisation requires practical solutions. With our new service, Emission Reduction Certificates, customers can take immediate action to reduce their transport emissions while supporting the increased use of lower-emission fuels,” says Arthur English, Chief Executive Officer at G2 Ocean.

The emission reductions come from the use of certified biofuels on G2 Ocean voyages. They are verified and documented before being issued as digital certificates in a blockchain-connected registry. This registry tracks ownership and establishes a clear chain of custody for each certificate, ensuring that every certificate is unique and not double-counted or double-claimed.

“The certificates can be purchased and used by any company with emissions from transportation. The verified reductions are supported by audit documentation that enables credible climate reporting and emission accounting,” says Sigrid Bakken, ESG and Communications Director at G2 Ocean.

This ensures transparency, traceability and safeguards against double counting, providing customers with credible claims for decision-making, reporting and stakeholder communication.

Photo credit: G2 Ocean
Published: 25 June, 2026