Singapore: Mandatory Mass Flow Metering Extended to Distillate Bunkering from Next Year

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Friday April 27, 2018

Mass flow meters (MFM), introduced in Singapore for fuel oil deliveries from 2017, will be extended to distillate ship refuelling, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said Friday.

Mandatory MFM on distillates' deliveries will start from July 1 next year.

"The industry has given positive feedback on the mandatory use of MFM for MFO," said MPA assistant chief executive (operations) Capt M Sega.

Speaking at an International Bunkering Industry Association event in Singapore yesterday, he said that the extension would "prepare the industry for an expected increase in the delivery of distillates with the introduction of a 0.5% global sulphur cap from 1 January 2020 by the International Maritime Organization".

"We will continue to work closely with all our stakeholders to prepare the bunkering industry for the future," he added

MFM distillate delivery was road-tested on bunker tankers in the port last year with positive results.

From July 1, 2019, all existing distillates bunker tankers supplying to ocean-going ships in the Port of Singapore must be fitted with a MPA-approved MFM system, the MPA said.

All new bunker tankers applying for the harbour craft (bunker tanker) licence will be required to be fitted with such a system.

In addition, the MPA has set up a fund for distillate bunker tanker operators to tap into to put towards the cost of conversion.