Business

Singapore: MPA issues circular updating crew change procedures for cargo ships

For crew changes to take place safely, MPA continues to expect all owners, agents, ships and individuals to ensure that the COVID-19 preventive measures are followed strictly.

Published

5 years ago

January 20, 2021

Admin

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) on Tuesday (19 January) issued a marine circular updating its crew change procedures for cargo ships to safeguard against Covid-19:

MPA will continue to consider the following circumstances for crew change applications:

crew whose employment contract has expired;
additional crew on board whose sign-off would not affect the safe manning of the ship;
change of crew due to the sale or purchase of ship;
personnel who are not part of the ship’s crew such as superintendents and service engineers;
compassionate grounds e.g. death of family member; or
If the crew is no longer medically fit to work onboard the ship.

The requirements for signing-on and -off in Singapore are as follows:

Sign-on

In general, all signing-on crew are required to serve 14-day Stay-Home- Notice (SHN) in the crew’s originating country/region in the period immediately prior to his/her departure flight/ferry to Singapore. The crew should be completely isolated in a room with a dedicated toilet with strictly no interaction with others (including family members) at his/her place of residence, or serve the SHN in a dedicated facility/hotel.
Crew from specific low risk countries/regions will either no longer be required to serve the SHN or serve a shorter SHN of 7 days in his/her originating country/region prior to departure for Singapore. Please refer to ICA’s website (https://safetravel.ica.gov.sg/files/SHN-and-swab summary.pdf) for the latest list of low risk countries/regions.
The crew must have a negative result from a COVID-19 test (polymerase chain reaction (PCR) type) taken at a government-approved or ISO 15189- accredited testing facility at his/her originating country not more than 72 hours prior to departure for Singapore.
The crew must be certified fit-to-travel by a doctor at his/her originating country not more than 24 hours prior to departure for Singapore.
During the entire crew change process, including during the journey to Singapore, the crew should not be in a group of more than five (5) persons, and must remain in the same group. There must be no interactions between groups.
The crew should only join his/her ship not more than two (2) days before the ship’s final departure from Singapore. Ships departing for sea trial and returning to Singapore is not considered final departure.
Crew shall only join the ship in Singapore after all high-risk* shore-based personnel have completed their work on board and disembarked the ship.
Crew who have recovered from COVID-19 must submit documentary proof of his/her past diagnosis of COVID-19 based on the earliest positive PCR test result.

o If the date of the positive PCR test result is 21 days or fewer before the date of arrival in Singapore, he/she will not be approved for crew change.

o If the date of the positive PCR test result is between 22 to 180 days before the date of arrival in Singapore, the recovered crew need not serve the SHN at his/her originating country/region nor take a COVID-19 PCR test within 72 hours before departure for Singapore. If he/she develops symptoms prior to departing for Singapore, he/she must be tested for COVID-19.

o If the positive PCR test result is more than 180 days before the date of arrival in Singapore, he/she must serve a 14-day SHN at his/her originating country and take a COVID-19 PCR test within 72 hours before departure for Singapore.

Sign-off

The crew must not have gone ashore in the last 21 days before disembarking the ship, must have remained well and not had contact with any known or suspect case of COVID-19 throughout that period.
The crew shall refrain from interacting with shore-based personnel at previous ports of call in the last 21 days.
The crew must be certified fit-to-travel by a doctor in Singapore not more than 24 hours before disembarking the ship.
Crew subjected to serology test shall remain onboard until production of a negative COVID-19 serology test result.

* High-risk shore-based personnel are persons that interact closely with ship crew in an enclosed space on board such as repair vendors, equipment service providers and superintendents.

Designated crew change holding facilities in Singapore

Sign-on and sign-off crew may stay at designated holding facilities for up to 72 hours. Please refer to Annex A for details of the designated holding facilities.

CrewSafe accredited facility

The Singapore Shipping Tripartite Alliance Resilience Fund Taskforce (SFTF) has developed a CrewSafe audit programme that endeavours to assist crew source nations to bring a higher level of confidence and quality control checks into crew change processes such as quarantine/holding, medical and swabbing facilities. Please refer to this link for more information regarding the CrewSafe audit programme and a list of CrewSafe accredited facilities.

For sign-on crew who undergo the protocol under these CrewSafe accredited facilities located overseas, his/her crew change application may be given the following concessions:

Submission of crew change application must be made at least 7 days in advance, instead of 14 days.
If a sign-on crew undergoing the CrewSafe protocol is cancelled, direct replacement for this crew will be allowed if the replacement has been undergoing CrewSafe protocol for the same required duration, instead of having to re-submit a new application and re-start the process.
At Singapore, sign-on crew who had undergone the CrewSafe protocol may stay at the designated holding facilities for up to 5 days (instead of 3 days), if required.

Holding areas at Marina South Pier and West Coast Pier

All crew that utilises Marina South Pier (MSP) or West Coast Pier (WCP) shall remain at the designated holding areas while waiting to clear immigration. Should the holding area be full, the crew shall remain in their private transportation.

For sign-off crew, the private transportation shall be ready and waiting so that the crew can depart MSP/WCP immediately upon clearing immigration and do not need to crowd up the holding area.

Agents and appointed drivers are responsible to ensure that the crew remain in the holding area or private vehicle at all times. At no time should the crew be loitering outside the holding area and interacting with the general public.

Precautionary measures for service providers facilitating crew change

Service providers that facilitate crew change in Singapore shall comply with the minimum level of personal protective equipment (PPE) as follows:

Meet-and-greet staff shall don surgical mask and gloves when escorting crew at the airport.
Land transport drivers shall don full PPE (N95 mask, gloves, gown) when transporting crew between the airport and vessel.
Launch boat operators shall down full PPE (N95 mask, gloves, gown) when transporting crew between the pier and vessel.

The agent shall charter a dedicated launch boat for conveyance of sign-on/off crew between the pier and vessel. No other personnel (e.g. boarding agents, technicians) shall be taking the same launch boat as the sign-on/off crew.

Land transport drivers shall carry out the following after each trip of ferrying sign-on/sign-off crew:

Open all windows and doors to air the vehicle.
Disinfect the passenger seats and luggage area.
Likewise, for launch boat operators, general cleaning of the boat shall be carried out after each trip of ferrying sign-on/off crew.

Precautionary measures for crew during flights

In view of the recent increase of occasions where ship crew are categorised as close contacts due to being on the same flight as a COVID-19 infected person, it is recommended that ship crew don full PPE (inclusive of gown, N95 mask and gloves) when travelling to Singapore.

General

Ship owners/managers/agents must apply for crew change in Singapore by filling up the online form at here.

MPA urges ship owners/managers/agents to submit applications at least 14 days before the planned crew change, especially if the application includes sign-on crew. For foreign-flagged ships, crew change will be considered if the ship meets all prevailing requirements, and is in Singapore for cargo operations, bunkering and/or other marine services.

For crew changes to take place safely, MPA continues to expect all owners, agents, ships and individuals to ensure that the COVID-19 preventive measures are followed strictly. Any breach will be taken seriously.

Any queries relating to this circular should be directed to [email protected].

Note: A link to the original post on the MPA website is available here.

Photo credit: Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore
Published: 20 January, 2021

Bunker Fuel

JLC China Bunker Fuel Market Monthly Report (June 2026)

China’s bonded bunker fuel sales rebounded in June, as bunkering demand grew modestly and bonded bunker fuel prices in domestic ports were still competitive amid sufficient supply, says JLC.

Published

3 days ago

July 10, 2026

Admin

JLC China Bunker Fuel Market Monthly Report (June 2026)

Beijing-based commodity market information provider JLC Network Technology Co. recently shared its JLC China Bunker monthly report for May 2026 with Manifold Times through an exclusive arrangement:

Bunker Fuel Demand

China’s bonded bunker fuel sales rebound in June

China’s bonded bunker fuel sales rebounded in June, as bunkering demand grew modestly and bonded bunker fuel prices in domestic ports were still competitive amid sufficient supply.

The country sold about 1.92 million mt of bonded bunker fuel in the month, with the daily sales at 63,980 mt, up by 5.53% month on month, JLC’s data shows.

Regarding the sales by supplier, the sales by Chimbusco, Sinopec (Zhoushan), SinoBunker, and ChinaChangjiang Bunker (Sinopec) respectively settled at 400,000 mt, 650,000 mt, 80,000 mt, and 10,000 mt inthe month, while those by suppliers with regional bunkering licenses settled at 779,400 mt.

China’s daily LSFO output hits 24-month high in June

China’s daily low-sulfur fuel oil (LSFO) output hit a 24-month high in June, because of the release of new export quotas and good production margins.

Chinese refiners produced about 1.31 million mt of LSFO in the month, with the daily output at 43,567 mt, the highest since June 2024, JLC’s data shows. The daily output rose by 13.68% month on month and 27.89% year on year.

Specifically, PetroChina recorded a surge in its LSFO output. Most refineries, including Liaohe Petrochemical, Dalian WEPEC, Jinzhou Petrochemical, Jinxi Petrochemical, and Dagang Petrochemical, boosted their production. Meanwhile, CNOOC’s LSFO output increased moderately, as its Taizhou Petrochemical resumed production after maintenance. Zhongjie Petrochemical did not produce any LSFO as it was still under maintenance, while Huizhou Refinery maintained stable production. Zhoushan Petrochemical’s LSFO output decreased in the month, but it was still relatively high.

On the other hand, Sinopec’s LSFO output slipped slightly in June, with Shengli Oilfield, Shanghai Petrochemical, and Shanghai Gaoqiao Petrochemical cutting their production. However, Maoming Petrochemical and ZhongKe (Guangdong) Refinery & Petrochemical maintained stable production, while Qingdao Petrochemical raised its output modestly. ZPC and Sinochem did not produce any LSFO in the month, but the latter produced and exported 10,000 mt.

Screenshot 2026 07 10 at 1.28.43 PM

Screenshot 2026 07 10 at 1.28.54 PM

Domestic-trade bunker fuel demand mixed in June

Domestic-trade heavy bunker fuel demand improved modestly and exceeded supply in June. The demand settled at 310,000 mt in the month, with the daily volume at 10,333 mt, inching up by 0.10%month on month, JLC’s data shows. By contrast, domestic-trade light bunker fuel demand settled at 150,000 mt in the month, with the daily volume at 5,000 mt, down by 3.12% month on month, the data shows. Bearish sentiment lingered in the light bunker fuel market, and buying interest was limited.

Bunker Fuel Supply

China’s bonded bunker fuel imports hit 16-month low in May

China’s bonded bunker fuel imports tumbled further in May, hitting a 16-month low. The country imported 275,900 mt of bonded bunker fuel in the month, plunging by 50.30%the previous month and 54.81% from a year earlier, calculations show, based on data from the General Administration of Customs of PRC (GACC).

The imports were the lowest since January 2025. Bonded bunker suppliers did not import any LSFO in the month as domestic supply remained sufficient. Meanwhile, they reduced purchases of high-sulfur fuel oil (HSFO) when import arbitrage narrowed. Regarding the imports by source, Russia still ranked first by shipping 135,258 mt to China, accounting for 49.02% of the latter’s total imports. Malaysia remained in second place with 120,631 mt, accounting for 43.72%, while South Korea ranked third with 20,025 mt, occupying 7.26%.

China’s bonded bunker fuel imports totaled about 2.87 million mt in January-May 2026, a boost of 7.80%from the same period of time in 2025, calculations also show.

Screenshot 2026 07 10 at 1.29.19 PM

Domestic-trade bunker fuel supply declines further in June

Chinese blenders supplied 290,000 mt of domestic-trade heavy bunker fuel in June, with the daily supply at 9,667 mt, a cut of 9.19% month on month, JLC’s data shows.

Blenders reduced their bunker fuel supply as the flow of low-sulfur residual oil into the bunker fuel field decreased. Meanwhile, cargo loading and unloading at northern ports slowed down amid stricter tax inspections and some other factors, which also depressed blenders’ production enthusiasm.

Domestic-trade MGO supply settled at 180,000 mt in June, with the daily supply at 6,000 mt, down by 2.11%from a month earlier, the data shows. Refineries lowered their MGO output when terminal demand weakened.

Screenshot 2026 07 10 at 1.29.31 PM

Bunker Prices, Profits

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Editor
Yvette Luo
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Sales (Beijing)
Tony Tang
+86-10-84428863
[email protected]

Sales (Singapore)
Ginny Teo
+65-31571254
[email protected]
[email protected]

JLC Network Technology Co., Ltd is recognised as the leading information provider in China. We specialise in providing the transparent, high-value, authoritative market intelligence and professional analysis in commodity market. Our expertise covers oil, gas, coal, chemical, plastic, rubber, fertilizer and metal industry, etc.

JLC China Bunker Fuel Market Monthly Report is published by JLC Network Technology Co., Ltd every month on China bunker market, demand, supply, margin, freight index, forecast and so on. The report provides full-scale & concise insight into China bunker oil market.

Note: China-based commodity market information provider JLC Technology has been providing Singapore bunkering publication Manifold Times China bunker volume data since 2020. Data from earlier periods are available here.

Photo credit: JLC Network Technology
Published: 10 July, 2026

Business

Singapore retains world’s leading maritime centre ranking in 2026 ISCD Index

The city state retained its position as the world’s leading maritime centre in the 2026 Xinhua-Baltic International Shipping Centre Development Index for the 13th consecutive year.

Published

3 days ago

July 10, 2026

Admin

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) on Friday (10 July) said Singapore retained its position as the world’s leading maritime centre in the 2026 Xinhua-Baltic International Shipping Centre Development (ISCD) Index for the 13th consecutive year.

The port authority said the recognition is significant as it marks its 30th anniversary this year.

“It reflects three decades of close partnership between MPA and the maritime community to strengthen Maritime Singapore’s ecosystem, underpinned by strong connectivity, a comprehensive range of maritime services, and Singapore’s role as a trusted platform for the global maritime community to connect and collaborate,” MPA said in a statement.

The Xinhua-Baltic ISCD Index is an internationally recognised benchmark of leading maritime centres. The Index assesses maritime hubs across a range of indicators, including port performance, maritime business services, and the overall business environment.

In 2025, the Port of Singapore handled a record 44.66 million Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) in container throughput and 3.22 billion gross tonnage in vessel arrivals.

The Port of Singapore also remained the world’s largest bunkering port, supplying a record 56.77 million tonnes of marine fuel, including growing volumes of alternative marine fuels. Today, Singapore is connected to more than 600 ports worldwide and is home to over 200 international shipping groups.

Mr Ang Wee Keong, Chief Executive of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, said, “We are honoured that Singapore has once again been recognised as the world’s leading maritime centre. This reflects the strong commitment and collective efforts of our industry partners and the wider maritime community.

“As the industry continues to evolve, we will continue working closely with our partners to strengthen Maritime Singapore’s competitiveness and create value for the global maritime community.”

Photo credit: Peter Nguyen on Unsplash
Published: 10 July, 2026

Digital platform

Norwegian Cruise Line to enhance bunker procurement process with ZeroNorth

By leveraging ZeroNorth’s Bunker Procurement Solution, NCLH will create greater efficiencies across the bunker procurement process while enhancing transparency, supplier collaboration, and decision-making.

Published

3 days ago

July 10, 2026

Admin

Norwegian Cruise Line to enhance bunker procurement process with ZeroNorth

Maritime technology solutions provider ZeroNorth on Thursday (9 July) said it is partnering with Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings to enhance bunker procurement processes through digital innovation.

“By leveraging ZeroNorth’s Bunker Procurement Solution, NCLH will create greater efficiencies across the bunker procurement process while enhancing transparency, supplier collaboration, and decision-making,” the company said in a social media post.

ZeroNorth added that fuel procurement is one of the most complex functions in operating a global cruise fleet.

“Balancing market dynamics, supplier options, operational schedules, and cost considerations require timely insights and the right technology,” it said.

Lory Urdaneta, Senior Director Energy Strategy at Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, said: “At Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, we are committed to embracing innovative technologies that strengthen our operations and deliver long-term value.

“Our partnership with ZeroNorth is an important step in enhancing our bunker procurement process through greater transparency, data-driven decision-making, and operational efficiencies. We look forward to working together to drive innovation and support the continued evolution of our procurement capabilities.”

Photo credit: ZeroNorth
Published: 10 July, 2026