Asia/Pacific News
Northwest Resources Exits Singapore Bunker Market After MPA Cancels its Licences
Northwest Resources Pte Ltd (Northwest Resources) has become the latest player to exit the Singapore bunker market after the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) today said it has cancelled their bunker supplier and bunker craft operator licences effective September 1, 2014.
MPA said its investigations had revealed the firm had breached the terms of both licences, but did not give specific details.
The action was taken following the conviction of Leong Kok Kheong, a Director of Northwest Resources, who was charged under the Prevention of Corruption Act with 50 counts of bunkering-related offences that dated back to May and June 2008.
Leong was convicted on April 29, 2014 after pleading guilty to 15 of the charges, and was sentenced to a total of 21 weeks imprisonment and fined $375,000.
As all bunker suppliers and bunker craft operators in the Port of Singapore are required to be licensed by MPA, Northwest Resources will no longer be able to operate in the port.
For 2013 the supplier was 29th on MPA's list of all bunker suppliers ranked by volume.
A little over two years ago there were 77 licensed bunker suppliers in Singapore, and the number has been falling since then, with several leaving the market after having their licences cancelled by MPA over BDN misuse.
In June 2014 A DOT Marine Pte Ltd (A DOT), a marine gasoil (MGO) only supplier, became the most recent new player to enter the market, with the exit of Northwest Resources bringing the total number of suppliers on the MPA list of accredited bunker suppliers to 63.
