Asia/Pacific News
SIBCON22: Singapore Senior Minister Addresses Bunker Contamination Issues
Chee Hong Tat, Singapore's senior minister of state for finance and transport, has addressed the city-state's bunker contamination issues from earlier this year in an opening address at the Sibcon industry event.
About 200 vessels bunkering at Singapore in February and March were found to have received HSFO contaminated with chlorinated hydrocarbons, with about 80 of these subsequently reporting damage.
The Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) issued regular updates on its investigations into the issue, and suspended Glencore's bunker supplier licence for two months after finding the firm had continued supplying the problematic fuel for about a week after discovering the contamination.
"MPA promptly took steps to deal with the incident and update the industry and the public regularly and openly," Chee said in his speech.
"MPA has also informed the International Maritime Organization of its investigations and actions taking, as well as key learning points to strengthen bunker quality."
An industry expert group led by the MPA and the Singapore Shipping Association plans to report back with recommendations on how to improve bunker quality sold in the city-state's waters by the first quarter of next year, Chee said.
