Alternative Fuels

SIBCON 2022 Interview: Singapore Bunkering TC Chairman shares republic’s direction on future marine fuels

Current ISO 8217 bunker fuel standard not comprehensive enough for biofuels; National Mirror Committee working with local players to develop more comprehensive biofuels standard for Singapore, says Capt. Rahul.

Published

2 years ago

September 28, 2022

Admin

The following interview with Capt. Rahul Choudhuri, Chairman of Singapore Technical Committee for Bunkering, is part of coverage for the upcoming Singapore International Bunkering Conference and Exhibition (SIBCON) 2022, where Manifold Times is an official media partner.

Capt. Rahul discusses the following:

The committee’s strategy in preparing the local marine fuels industry for IMO 2030
How future bunker fuels could affect bunker surveyors
Singapore’s latest bunker fuel contamination incidents and
Development plans for a local biofuel bunker standard

MT: How is the Singapore Technical Committee for Bunkering and its related government entities preparing the local marine fuels industry for IMO 2030?

The Singapore Technical Committee falls under the purview of the Singapore Standards Council and is managed by the Singapore Development Organisation at SCIC. The intention is to develop national standards that continue to raise industry awareness, productivity and of course fulfil our regulator’s requirements.

The successful implementation of the SS:648 (Code of practice for bunker mass flow metering) is a good case in point where it has not only supported the local industry in modernising and building a competitive advantage for Singapore as a bunkering hub, but also help elevate global standards through the formation of an international standard ISO 22192 (Bunkering of marine fuel using mass flow meter) which took place last year.

In terms of getting ready for sustainable fuel development, the National Mirror Committee has been working hard in getting an interim biofuel standard ready. The work in developing a code of practice for ammonia and methanol bunkering has already started but this will take time.

MT: Future marine fuels could include material which are poisonous when exposed [ammonia] or super chilled [LNG]; how will this affect traditional bunker surveyor operations, such as drip sampling and tank gauging? Do you think bunker surveyors will still be needed in the future?

I think we are seeing early days still in terms of use of such new fuels. Their present use in mainstream shipping is fairly limited. The Global Centre of Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) has embarked on an extensive study on the safety criteria for ammonia bunkering which will include sampling & quality parameters. We should wait for these findings.

The bunker surveyor’s role needs to adapt to these changes and this can mean a greater level of knowledge building. However, the primary role of the surveyor to ‘trust but verify’ still remains a fundamental that will not be changed.

MT: Do you think marine fuel quality off-spec issues, this time involving alternative bunkers such as biofuels, methanol, LNG, ammonia and hydrogen, will still take place in the future? Why?

Alternative fuels such as biofuels have different quality characteristics that will need careful consideration and effective fuel management. For example, the FAME content of biofuels will define their energy value so knowing what this is accurately will be critical. Another criteria will be the evaluation of storage considerations for such biofuels as they may degrade, in which case knowing more about their stability characteristics will be important.

MT: Is the current ISO 8217 bunker fuel standard comprehensive enough for biofuels, which is seen by many shipowners as the easiest way to meet IMO 2030 targets? Any areas which you will like to see improvement?

No, I don’t think so. This may be because many other areas are under review in the ISO 8217 and so sufficient attention has not been given to the use and management of biofuels. It is for this reason that the National Mirror Committee (under the Technical Committee for Bunkering) has taken the task to develop a more comprehensive standard for biofuels in Singapore.

MT: What lessons have Singapore taken from the bunker contamination incidents earlier this year? What measures have the government introduced to make sure such an event never happens again at the world’s biggest bunkering port?

Apart from all the extensive work done by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), the industry will be aware a new Expert Group has been set up together with the Singapore Shipping Association (SSA) to look more closely at this contamination incident and what further control measures can be set. We should not underestimate the seriousness of the intention here.

At the Standards level, the SS:524 (Specification for quality management for bunker supply chain) has been revised with the intention to put greater leadership commitment and risk management in the supply chain.

A list of other interviews conducted by Singapore bunkering publication Manifold Times on occasion of SIBCON 2022 are as follows:

Photo credit: Singapore Technical Committee for Bunkering
Published: 28 September, 2022

Bunker Fuel

SIBCON 2024: Singapore bunker suppliers must provide e-BDN from 1 April 2025

Senior Minister of State Amy Khor also announced MPA will reduce the frequency of verification checks for mass flow meters from twice a year currently, to once a year, from 1 April 2025.

Published

4 hours ago

October 9, 2024

Admin

SIBCON 2024: Singapore bunker suppliers must provide e-BDN from 1 April 2025

From 1 April 2025, all bunker suppliers in the Port of Singapore will be required to provide digital bunkering services as a default, said Senior Minister of State for Transport and Sustainability and the Environment Amy Khor on Wednesday (9 October).

Khor said Singapore will be the first port globally to implement digital bunkering at scale. MPA launched the digital bunkering initiative on 1 November 2023, becoming the first port in the world to implement electronic bunker delivery notes (e-BDN).

“This initiative is expected to save the industry close to 40,000 man-days annually. In addition, MPA will introduce a centralised electronic Bunker Delivery Note record verification facility to enhance the transparency and integrity of transactions in bunkering operations,” she said in her speech at the 23rd Singapore International Bunkering Conference and Exhibition (SIBCON).

She emphasised that the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) will work closely with industry partners and the unions to digitalise and streamline processes to improve efficiency in our port; strengthen our capabilities for the bunkering of future fuels and encourage adoption of these fuels; and upskill our workforce to facilitate the green transition.

Khor also made the following announcements:

From 1 April 2025, MPA will reduce the frequency of verification checks for mass flow meters from twice a year currently, to once a year. Singapore was the first port globally to adopt mass flow meters in 2017, and this new move is expected to help the industry save approximately $300,000 annually.
From 1 January 2025, MPA will roll out two innovative AI applications, DocuMind and DocuMatch, developed in collaboration with cloud service providers to drive greater efficiency in our port. These are expected to accelerate certificate processing time from up to three days currently, to a few minutes for most transactions.
Two ammonia bunkering proposals by Mitsui and Fortescue-Equatorial Marine Fuels have been selected by the consortia for the next round of Request for Proposal to provide a low- or zero-carbon ammonia solution on Jurong Island for power generation and bunkering.
MPA will commit $50 million to support the implementation of the refreshed Maritime Singapore Green Initiative, to further encourage the early adoption of green fuels and technologies across the maritime industry.
Singapore will continue to strengthen international partnerships through initiatives like the Green and Digital Shipping Corridors (GDSCs) to enable the digitalisation and decarbonisation of shipping. On 9 October, MPA and the Shandong Provincial Transport Department will be signing the Singapore-Shandong GDSC at the sidelines of the 25th Singapore-Shandong Business Council co-chaired by Mr Chee Hong Tat, Minister for Transport and Second Minister for Finance, and Mr Zhou Naixiang, Governor of the Shandong Provincial Government.

Photo credit: Singapore Ministry of Transport
Published: 9 October, 2024

LNG Bunkering

Seaspan Energy takes delivery of first LNG bunkering vessel

“Seaspan Garibaldi” will take first cargo and finalise commissioning in Vancouver before its first ship-to-ship bunkering in Long Beach, where Seaspan will bunker a series of vessels.

Published

4 hours ago

October 9, 2024

Admin

Seaspan Energy takes delivery of first LNG bunkering vessel “Seaspan Garibaldi”

Seaspan Energy on Monday (7 October) said it took delivery of its first LNG bunkering vessel, the Seaspan Garibaldi and is currently sailing to Vancouver.

Manifold Times previously reported that the vessel is the first of three 7,600m3 LNG bunkering vessels and it is named after Mount Garibaldi, or “Nch'ḵay̓”.

The Garibaldi will take first cargo and finalise commissioning in Vancouver before its first ship-to-ship bunkering in Long Beach, where Seaspan will provide Simultaneous Operations to bunker a series of vessels.

Following its first bunkering, the Seaspan Garibaldi will continue to provide low-carbon solutions to vessels on the West Coast of North America and will soon be joined by Seaspan Energy’s second LNG bunkering vessel, the Seaspan Lions (Ch’ich’iyúy Elxwíkn).

The Seaspan Garibaldi is 112.8 metres in length, 18.6 metres in width, 5 metres in draft, with a design speed of 13 knots.

CIMC Sinopacific Offshore & Engineering (CIMC SOE), a small-scale gas carrier shipyard in the world, was appointed to build all three LNG bunkering vessels.

Photo credit: Seaspan
Published: 9 October, 2024

LNG Bunkering

Avenir LNG, Eni ink multi-year charter for LNG bunker vessel “Avenir Aspiration”

Avenir signed a Time Charter Party with Eni subsidiary LNG Shipping for one of the company’s 7,500cbm LNG bunker vessels; charter to Eni will commence from delivery in Europe in 2025.

Published

4 hours ago

October 9, 2024

Admin

Avenir LNG orders two 20,000cbm LNG bunker and supply vessels from CIMC SOE

Avenir LNG Limited on Tuesday (8 October) announced it has signed a Time Charter Party (TCP) with LNG Shipping S.p.A., a 100% subsidiary of Eni S.p.A.(Eni) for one of the company’s 7,500cbm LNG bunker vessels, the Avenir Aspiration.

The multi-year time charter to Eni will commence from delivery in Europe in 2025.

With this announcement, Avenir continues to deliver on its chartering strategy which has successfully concluded four new term charter agreements over the past 12 months across its fleet of five vessels on the water and two under construction.

This charter increases the company’s third-party charter revenue backlog, including options, to over USD 285 million, securing additional long term sustainable cashflow for the Group and shareholders over the next decade.

The Avenir Aspiration currently trades alongside the Avenir Ascension in the Northwest Europe performing small-scale supply services and ship-to-ship bunkering operations as part of Avenir’s physical LNG trading division, Avenir Supply and Trading.

Mr. Jonathan Quinn, Managing Director of Avenir LNG, said: “We are excited to be working with Eni to support their expansion into the LNG Bunkering market.”

“This transaction further solidifies Avenir as the trusted partner for modern and efficient small-scale LNG vessels as well as delivering on our strategy to facilitate the growth of LNG as a marine fuel globally.”

“We look forward to embarking on this long-term relationship with Eni whom we will serve with the highest safety and operational standards which Avenir has come to be known for.”

Photo credit: Avenir LNG
Published: 9 October, 2024