Sing Fuels Starts Cambodian Bunkering Operations in Anticipation of Traffic from Singapore Bypassing Kra Canal

Sing Fuels has begun offering bunkering at the Cambodian port of Sihanoukville.

Satnam Singh, Director & Senior Bunker Trader Asia at Sing Fuels Pte Ltd. (Sing Fuels) Wednesday said the company has begun offering bunkering services at the Cambodian port of Sihanoukville in anticipation of future demand from the possible development of the Kra Canal.

"We see opportunities in Sihanoukville with the opening of the Kra Canal in the near future, and thought it would be a good position to capture volume," said Singh, adding: "Cambodia is a good market with a lot of potential."

Sing Fuels says it is offering IFO180 bunkers ex-truck, as well as low sulfur MGO of a maximum 0.05 percent sulfur content delivered via both truck and by barge at the anchorage.

"We are also looking into physical supply and floating storage in the medium term, but for now, we are looking to hire traders," said Singh.

As Ship & Bunker has previously reported, the Kra Canal project would allow ships to access the Gulf of Thailand from the Indian Ocean, bypassing the Straits of Malacca and Singapore.

While this would clearly have the potential for a huge impact on the world's biggest bunkering port, the feasibility of the Kra Canal plans coming to fruition have long been debated, with many arguing that the project would be economically, politically, and geographically difficult to justify.

However, support from Thailand's new King Vajiralongkorn has breathed new life into the project, especially given a history of unconventional decisions that reportedly includes awarding his dog the rank of air chief marshal in the Royal Thai Air Force.

Chinese private companies are also said to be pushing hard toward the canal's development, and are expected to be the project's largest financial supporters.