Asia/Pacific News
Mandatory MFM's Won't Change Singapore's Position as Top Bunker Port: Analyst
The January 1, 2017 introduction of mandatory mass flow meter (MFM) use for MFO bunkering in Singapore will not change its position as the world's top bunker port by volume, at least in the near term, according to Yaw Yan Chong, Director of Oil Research in Asia at Thomson Reuters.
"Everybody had expected to see a volume flight from Singapore then, but it didn't happen. The consensus among buyers is that even though cost is higher, they know they're getting secure supply," Yaw was quoted by local media outlet Straits Times as saying Tuesday at a fuel oil trading and hedging seminar held at the Singapore Exchange.
As previously discussed on Ship & Bunker, following a record annual volume of bunker fuel sold in 2016 many predicted the mandating of MFMs in Singapore would lead to a fall in volumes as suppliers raised prices to recover the cost of installing the technology.
However, official data from the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) showed quite the opposite, as January 2017 sales hit a record monthly high of 4,462,200 metric tonnes.
