Asia/Pacific News
Southernpec Loses Bunker Craft Operator Licence After MFM Magnet Malpractice
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) has revoked the bunker craft operator licence of Southernpec (Singapore) Pte Ltd (Southernpec) after the supplier was found to have engaged in a bunker malpractice involving the use of a magnet to interfere with the mass flow meter (MFM) on board a tanker during a bunkering operation.
Such action constituted a breach of the terms and conditions of its bunker craft operator licence, MPA said.
Southernpec is also said to have failed to inform MPA of the appointment of cargo officers to work on its bunker craft.
The move is effective today, May 8, 2019.
As for its separate licence to supply bunkers, for now Southernpec remains on the port's list of officially licensed bunker suppliers despite having its supplier's licence suspended last month.
While today's notice made no specific reference to the status of that suspension, MPA said it is separately investigating Southernpec for possible breaches of the terms and conditions of its bunker supplier licence.
While there has been talk in the market for some time as to whether it is possible for a magnet-based attack to disrupt MFM meter readings, last month Petro Inspect via Ship & Bunker were the first to bring evidence of attempts to leverage such a malpractice to public attention.
Southernpec was ranked as Singapore's 30th largest supplier by volume for 2018.
Read More: Evidence Emerges of Attempts to Use Magnets to Influence MFM Bunker Volume Readings
