Marine fuels testing company VPS on Monday (4 December) said it was honoured with the prestigious Marine Fuel Testing and Inspection Excellence Award at the inaugural Marine Fuels 360 Awards gala dinner held on 29 November at the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. 

VPS said the recognition underscored its steadfast dedication to excellence, innovation, and leadership within the maritime and bunker industry. 

The Marine Fuels 360 Awards ceremony is a pioneering event in the marine fuels industry, organised by Informa Markets with an independent global panel of judges, and dedicated to acknowledging remarkable contributions and accomplishments.

The gala dinner, attended by approximately 350 prominent figures from the maritime and bunker sector, served as a platform for industry leaders to gather and recognise outstanding achievements. 

“VPS's recognition in the Marine Fuel Testing and Inspection Excellence category highlights our exceptional technical expertise, professionalism, and dedication to meeting Port State Control’s bunker fuel quality requirements while promoting sustainable bunker procurement practices,” the firm said in a statement. 

VPS also announced its three future core areas it will be focusing on moving forward.

“As we celebrate this achievement, we also remain committed to our future endeavours in decarbonisation, digitisation, and energy efficiency. The marine fuels industry is evolving rapidly, and VPS is actively engaged in initiatives related to the viability and realities of alternative fuels,” it said.

“Our focus includes exploring options such as methanol as bunker fuel, where VPS conducted the world’s first quantity and quality survey in Singapore, Egypt and Rotterdam.”

The firm also noted its acquisition of Xyney Maritime and Emsys supports its direction to provide data driven decarbonisation solutions, emissions monitoring and leveraging these with its existing largest database of marine fuel quality. 

“This dynamic combination of existing competence with future capabilities, we believe, has been pivotal in winning this prestigious Marine Fuel Testing & Inspection Excellence Award. We are proud of the collective efforts of the entire VPS team that have led to this recognition,” it added.

“This award is a reflection of our dedication to pioneering work and sets the stage for future accomplishments in our journey toward sustainable and efficient maritime practices.”

VPS also said it will continue to be at the forefront of industry advancements, collaborating closely with the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD).

“Our ongoing work on fingerprinting biofuels aims to establish transparent methods for determining the origins of these fuels & thereby provide additional proof of sustainability,” it said. 

Related: Marine Fuels 360: Fingerprinting to play key role in proving biofuel feedstock authenticity and beyond, says VPS
Related: GCMD-led consortium completes trials of sustainable biofuel bunker supply chains
Related: Dubai: Shipowners and peers discuss realities of biofuel adoption at VPS Biofuels Seminar
Related: Singapore: VPS panel discussion presents a masterclass in shipping’s biofuel bunker adoption issues to the deck

Photo credit: Informa Markets
Published: 5 December, 2023

Marine fuel testing and marine surveying business Maritec Pte Ltd (CTI-Maritec) on Friday (27 October) issued an alert regarding low-flashpoint bunker fuels found in samples from Singapore and Indonesia.

Maritec Pte Ltd has tested three samples of VLSFO deliveries in Singapore with flashpoint as low as 54°C from different suppliers and barges as well as eleven samples (from the period of 5th September 2023 to 19th October 2023) of HSD and B35 deliveries in Indonesia with flashpoint as low as 41°C from mostly a single supplier.

SOLAS Chapter II-2, Part B, Reg. 4. Clause 2.1.1 states:

“The following limitations shall apply to the use of oil as fuel, except as otherwise permitted by this paragraph, no oil fuel with a flashpoint of less than 60°C shall be used.” 

Recommendations by CTI-Maritec:

If your vessel has bunkered a low flashpoint fuel it is prudent to observe the below precautions:

• Flame screens on tank vents should be maintained in good condition and there should be no sources of ignition in the vicinity of the vents. This will assist in safe natural ventilation of volatile components in the fuel.

• No Smoking, No naked flame and No hot work must be allowed at any areas near to tank air vents.

• Send additional tank(s) samples upon arrival in port to check the fuel properties and flash point

results especially if there has been co-mingling of fuels in bunker tanks

• If the vessel is out at sea it may be possible to obtain dispensation from your Flag State

Administration up to next arrival port

• Put the supplier on notice promptly and notify your P&I club.

ISO 4259 interpretation for tested flashpoint temperature is not taken into consideration here as the safety of onboard crew and vessel is of higher precedence.

This document however does not reflect on the overall quality of fuel being supplied at Singapore, if you intend to bunker at this region please request for a Certificate of Quality prior to loading.

Photo credit: Maritec
Published: 30 October, 2023

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) on Monday (16 October) issued Port Marine Circular No. 11 of 2023 informing MPA licensed bunker suppliers to provide a Proof of Sustainability or similar documentation together with the Bunker Delivery Note for biofuel bunker deliveries:

ISSUANCE OF A PROOF OF SUSTAINABILITY WITH THE BUNKER DELIVERY NOTE FOR BIO-FUEL DELIVERIES TO SHIPS ENGAGED IN INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING IN THE PORT OF SINGAPORE

This circular serves to inform all bunker suppliers and bunker craft operators licensed by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) on the requirements to issue a Proof of Sustainability (POS) from a recognised scheme together with the Bunker Delivery Note when biofuel is supplied to vessels in the Port of Singapore.

This circular should be read in conjunction with PMC 21 of 2022 – Supply of biofuel within the Port of Singapore to vessels, where amongst other requirements, bunker suppliers had been encouraged to supply International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) certified biofuel.

The 80th session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) approved the “Interim guidance on the use biofuels under regulations 26, 27 and 28 of MARPOL Annex VI (IMO DCS and CII)”. This was promulgated via MEPC.1/Circ.905 for application from 01 October 2023. The circular is attached as Annex A.

Arising from MEPC.1/Circ.905, from 01 October 2023, MPA licensed bunker suppliers, at the request of their customers or the Master/owner of the receiving vessel, must provide a POS or similar documentation from a recognised scheme together with the Bunker Delivery Note (BDN).

When a POS or similar documentation is provided to the receiving vessel, the bunker supplier must also provide to MPA Standards and Investigation – Marine Fuel (SIMF) Department (i.e. [email protected]) a copy of such documentation. MPA will conduct random checks and contact the bunker suppliers for additional details as and when necessary.

This circular is for an interim period only, until a more comprehensive method is developed for international shipping to calculate a fuel's Emission Conversion Factor reflecting the emissions based on the LCA Guidelines by the IMO. For the nationally determined contributions to emission reduction for the national emission reduction goals and the use of biofuels for harbourcraft where the greenhouse gas emissions are reported, the relevant factors used can be referenced to Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories.

For calculation of the CO2 Emission Conversion Factor (Cf) for international shipping, suppliers are to adopt the calculation methodology set out in MEPC.1/Circ.905.

Should you have any queries, please write to us at [email protected] or [email protected].

Note: The Annex A of the circular can be found here.

Related: Singapore: MPA develops framework to support biofuel bunker fuel deliveries
Related: Singapore bunker volume down by 4.3% on year but biofuel sales surpasses LNG
Related: Argus Media viewpoint: Biofuel bunkering in Singapore set to build
Related: Singapore: Golden Island begins fleetwide B30 biofuel bunker trial, starts tests with “Double Happiness”

Photo credit: Manifold Times
Published: 16 October, 2023