Business

Equatorial Marine Fuel links one third of bunker tanker fleet to SGTraDex in push towards trust & transparency

‘We are proud to be amongst the first to show the successful steps taken by Singapore’s bunkering ecosystem to remain forward thinking and relevant,’ Choong Sheen Mao, Director of EMF, tells Manifold Times.

Published

2 years ago

June 3, 2022

Admin

Singapore bunker supplier Equatorial Marine Fuel Management Services Pte Ltd (EMF) has connected one third of its bunker tanker fleet to the Singapore Trade Data Exchange (SGTraDex), learns bunkering publication Manifold Times.

The seven SGTraDex-linked bunker tankers, namely Sea Diligence, Sea Fortitude, Sea Bountiful, Sea Reliance, Golden Bravo, Sea Loyalty, and Sea Brilliance, represents part of EMF’s perpetual push towards the implementation of trust and transparency in business operations, states Choong Sheen Mao, Director of EMF.

“Having data securely sent from digital mass flow meters via the Internet of Things to the cloud for inspection by all counterparties severely reduces credit and fraud risk. This is a significant development for EMF,” he explains.

“Moreover, the authenticity for a third of our bunkering transactions can now be tracked by reputed financial institutions using the SGTraDex digital infrastructure.

“We are proud to be amongst the first to showcase the successful steps taken by Singapore’s bunkering ecosystem to remain forward thinking and relevant, while demonstrating to the world SGTraDex is workable.

“Overall, the availability of SGTraDex for supporting marine refuelling operations represents an achievement for the entire Singapore bunkering sector. After all, this is a multiagency effort spanning a two-year period involving the whole bunker supply chain.”

Equatorial Marine Fuel links one third of bunker tanker fleet to SGTraDex in push towards trust & transparency

Singapore-based Brightree Pte Ltd, a solutions provider for the implementation of industrial Internet of Things, connected EMF’s seven mass flow meter (MFM) equipped bunkering vessels to SGTraDex.

“We upgraded communications systems on the marine refuelling tankers with an external antenna to send data from the bunker metering computer back to the SGTraDex network in Singapore,” explains Kevin Peng, Managing Director of Brightree.

“This is done via a router utilising both Singapore and Indonesia SIM cards. Connectivity is not a big problem, as data is simply backed up in dead zones with no GSM signals and automatedly resent to the server once connection has been re-established.

“Brightree’s digital bunkering solution emphasises a great deal on cyber security and data integrity. Users of our systems can be assured of the accuracy and integrity of bunkering digital documents.

“We have been involved with this bunker digitalisation project since 2018. The launch of the evolved SGTraDex platform represents a monumental step for Singapore’s bunkering sector. Brightree is proud to have been amongst key solution providers for this platform.”

The seven EMF bunker tankers involved in the project are using MFMs manufactured by Emerson.

“Emerson, being an MPA-approved MFM system provider, has provided the Fuel Monitoring Bunkering systems onboard the EMF bunker vessels, and is glad to be involved in this SGTraDex initiative by EMF on digital bunker delivery notes,” says Yap Swee Choon, Site Leader for Emerson Process Management Marine Solutions Singapore Pte Ltd.

“We are delighted to partake in this milestone of Singapore’s bunkering history.”

Equatorial Marine Fuel links one third of bunker tanker fleet to SGTraDex in push towards trust & transparency

Ms So Lay Hua, Head of Group Transaction Banking, UOB, said: “We are pleased to partner Equatorial Marine Fuel to drive digitalisation in the bunker industry. In an industry which traditionally relies heavily on the physical exchange of paper, going digital is key to enhancing efficiency and transparency.”

“The use of digital bunker delivery notes allows banks to verify the authenticity of the underlying bunker transactions, giving banks greater confidence when financing transactions.”

“With SGTraDex enabling connectivity across bunker suppliers, service providers and banks through a single data highway, transmission of data to multiple parties can be done in a rapid and secure manner. This is critical to streamlining data flow across the supply chain and UOB is confident that this data super highway will help deliver process efficiency for our clients.”

SGTraDex was introduced in 2021; its founding partners include the Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore, PSA International, Trafigura, DBS Group, Jurong Port, OCBC Bank, Ocean Network Express, Oiltanking, Pacific International Lines, Standard Chartered, and UOB.

Amongst use case scenarios of the digital infrastructure was to provide real time visibility by digitalising documentation and processes associated with the delivery of bunkers. This improved transparency allows companies to reconcile actual usage and helps bunkering players enhance their operational efficiency and financing, close to real time.

Manifold Times in July 2021 reported on Singapore’s live bunker delivery financing pilot transaction, in a prelude to the implementation of SGTraDex.

EMF in October 2020 launched its Online Tracking Tool, a free mobile responsive tracking tool for customers to check on the status of a bunker delivery.

Photo credit: SGTraDex
Published: 3 June, 2022

Bunker Fuel

SIBCON 2024: EnterpriseSG to launch new Singapore standard for e-BDN

EnterpriseSG, through the Singapore Standards Council, will launch a new Singapore Standard 709 Specification for Digital Bunkering Supply Chain Documentation.

Published

17 hours ago

October 10, 2024

Admin

SIBCON 2024: New Singapore standard on digital bunkering to be launched

Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG), through the Singapore Standards Council (SSC), will launch a new Singapore Standard (SS) 709 Specification for Digital Bunkering Supply Chain Documentation, according to Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) on Wednesday (9 October).

MPA said the new standard will ensure data consistency and interoperability between digital systems and facilitate smoother transactions through trusted and verifiable digital bunkering documents.

This comes following Amy Khor, Senior Minister of State for the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment and the Ministry of Transport, announcing that from 1 April 2025, all bunker suppliers will be required to provide digital bunkering services and issue electronic bunker delivery notes (e-BDNs) as a default.

The move was decided following successful pilots conducted since 1 November 2023 with bunker suppliers, including the top 10 bunker players, in Singapore.

To further enhance transparency and transaction integrity in bunkering operations, MPA will also introduce a centralised e-BDN record verification facility. This enables key stakeholders to verify the e-BDN received against the information transmitted to MPA.

EnterpriseSG has also launched the revised Singapore Standard (SS) 648 Code of Practice for Bunker Mass Flow Metering to include data integrity and transmission requirements in line with this new digital standard.

In the first eight months of 2024, MPA said Singapore saw strong growth of approximately 7% in total bunker sales over the same period last year, reaching over 36 million tonnes. Biofuels and liquefied natural gas bunker sales surpassed 700,00 metric tonnes.

To support the operationalisation of a higher mix of low-carbon alternative fuels, both EnterpriseSG and MPA are developing the Singapore standards for methanol bunkering and ammonia bunkering by 2024 and 2025 respectively.

The standards will cover custody transfer requirements, safety procedures and crew competencies, to ensure safe bunkering operations and handling of these fuels.

MPA also announced that three major shipping lines — Hafnia, K-Line, and MOL — are in early discussions to join the Singapore - Port of Los Angeles (LA)- Port of Long Beach (LB) Green and Digital Shipping Corridor (GDSC) initiative.

Each partner would be expected to spearhead a project to advance the corridor’s decarbonisation and digitalisation goals, such as the adoption of net-zero fuels, Just-in-Time route optimisation, and energy efficiency technologies such as wind-assisted ship propulsion.

The addition of the new partners will significantly strengthen the GDSC’s capacity to drive innovation in sustainable shipping practices and accelerate the adoption of zero/near-zero emission fuels and green technologies along the corridor.

Photo credit: Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore
Published: 10 October, 2024

Alternative Fuels

SIBCON 2024: SGMF releases methanol and ammonia bunkering guidelines

SFMF published Bunkering Guidelines for Ammonia and Bunkering Guidelines for Methanol, as well as Emergency Response Guide for Ammonia; also revealed new brand to reflect four key future marine fuels.

Published

17 hours ago

October 10, 2024

Admin

SIBCON 2024: SGMF releases methanol and ammonia bunkering guidelines

SGMF on Wednesday (9 October) announced the release of the Bunkering Guidelines for Ammonia and Bunkering Guidelines for Methanol, as well as the Emergency Response Guide for Ammonia.

During the 23rd Singapore International Bunkering Conference (SIBCON), SGMF also revealed its new brand reflecting the organisation’s current activities in the four key marine fuels for the future: LNG, methanol, ammonia and hydrogen.

SGMF is a membership-based organisation leading safe maritime decarbonisation with members across the full value chain of marine fuels, including suppliers, operators, owners, equipment manufacturers, class societies, port authorities, individuals and training organisations.

While the search for the perfect alternative fuel continues, SGMF said methanol and ammonia are two of the fuels that the global merchant fleet has identified and is looking to implement, emphasising the importance of these guidelines.

Methanol – With the first vessels already running on methanol, and many more on order, methanol is ahead of the curve in terms of adoption. It has also overtaken regulation, meaning that these early adopters are having to put forward safety solutions that have not yet been documented, and bunker suppliers using existing chemical carriers are trying to second guess what conversion and equipment may be needed to make their vessels physically compatible with the ships being produced. These methanol bunkering guidelines have been published as a first draft to highlight the key safety factors that need to be considered when designing and bunkering a vessel of any type with methanol.

Ammonia – Despite ammonia (NH3) not yet being commercially available as a marine fuel, this bunkering document provides guidance to all the stakeholders currently investigating and developing the bunkering of ships with fully refrigerated (-33°C) ammonia.

A range of potential hazards are expected with bunkering ammonia and to date there is very limited experience, with only one series of bunkering trials conducted as at March 2024.

As a result, Bunkering Guidelines for Ammonia draws primarily on the current experience of LNG bunkering, the wider ammonia marine transport industry and the shoreside ammonia production and transport industry experience.

“The overall aim of these guidelines is therefore to ensure that ammonia-fuelled ships are bunkered safely, reliably, efficiently and in an environmentally responsible way, targeting the avoidance of operational or fugitive emissions of ammonia,” SGMF added.

These publications have been compiled with extensive input from the SGMF membership, as well as with collaborative support from the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) and the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping (MMMCZCS).

Note: The bunkering guidelines are available in the shop on SGMF portal and the Emergency Response Guide for Ammonia can be downloaded through its free resources section.

Photo credit: SGMF
Published: 10 October, 2024

Technology

SIBCON 2024: TFG Marine to launch ZeroNorth e-BDNs in Singapore

‘We are excited to work with providers such as ZeroNorth to roll out eBDNs to our customers, not only in Singapore but across our global operations,’ says Kenneth Dam, TFG Marine Global Head of Bunkering.

Published

17 hours ago

October 10, 2024

Admin

SIBCON 2024: TFG Marine to launch ZeroNorth e-BDNs in Singapore

TFG Marine (TFG), the international marine fuel joint venture founded by Trafigura, Frontline and Golden Ocean, on Wednesday (9 October) said it will introduce ZeroNorth’s electronic bunker delivery notes (eBDNs) solution for its customers in Singapore by the end of the year.

Kenneth Dam, TFG Marine Global Head of Bunkering, made the announcement during the International Trade and Fuel Market Trends panel discussion at the 23rd Singapore International Bunkering Conference (SIBCON).

Dam said: “We are excited to work with providers such as ZeroNorth to roll out eBDNs to our customers, not only in Singapore but across our global operations.”

“This technology will help digitalise the bunker delivery process, reduce administrative burdens, enhance digital documentation, and contribute to a smarter, more connected bunkering sector.”

“We are committed to advocating for the adoption of eBDNs as a global standard for bunker fuel delivery.”

The fully digital solution, accessible through TFG Marine’s mobile app and integrated with SGTraDex digital infrastructure, will enable the inclusion of additional data, such as mass flow meter readings during fuel deliveries.

“This will drive substantial improvements in efficiency, accuracy, compliance, and sustainability across operations, complementing our global mass flow meter global rollout across our fleet and ensuring TFG Marine remains at the forefront of the bunkering industry,” the firm added.

Photo credit: TFG Marine
Published: 10 October, 2024