Lloyd's Register FOBAS recorded 10 off-spec cases at Singapore between 15 and 31 December 2017; of the total amount, 50% were due to density related issues.
“This has nothing to do with the use of mass flowmeters (MFM) for bunkering at Singapore,” clarified Simon Neo, Executive Director of Singapore-based Piroj International.
“The off-spec in density as reported is basically a specification issue which the bunker buyer and bunker supplier should take it out and retest the sample in accordance with procedures.”
According to Neo, the majority of fuel oil at Singapore are blended products and off-spec issues, though not intentional, could occasionally happen as part of the process.
“This is why bunker suppliers will need to preform their due diligence in terms of cargo specs,” he explains.
“But it is not easy as bunker tankers in Singapore depend on turnaround time to reduce operation cost and waiting for results to come back from quality testing could mean losses in revenue.”
Furthermore, blending theory suggests of the heavier portion of fuel oil settling to the bottom of the tank after inside the shore tank for more than a day.
“So, it really depends where the sample is taken from for testing by the terminal before they load the bunker tanker,” says Neo.
“What we can be very sure of is, the MFM will calculate the right quantity during a bunker delivery.”
Details of the Singapore off-spec cases recorded by FOBAS are as follows:
| Port | Characteristic | ISO 8217 Limit or Advised Value | Final result | Unit |
| Singapore | Density at 15oC | 1.0095** | 1.0122 | kg/l |
| Singapore | Density at 15oC | 0.9907** | 0.9925 | kg/l |
| Singapore | Density at 15oC | 0.9907** | 0.9951 | kg/l |
| Singapore | Density at 15oC | 0.9908** | 0.9923 | kg/l |
| Singapore | Density at 15oC | 0.9908** | 0.9938 | kg/l |
| Singapore | Pour point | 0* | 6 | oC |
| Singapore | Pour point | 0* | 6 | oC |
| Singapore | Pour point | 0* | 9 | oC |
| Singapore | Water | 0.50* | 0.90 | % Volume |
| Singapore | Water | 0.50* | 0.90 | % Volume |
Photo credit: Endress + Hauser
Published: 5 January, 2018
Traditional marine fuels during Q3 2020 saw fuel oil sales at 2.0 million mt (1.8 million mt); MGO at 265,151 mt (260,307 mt); and MDO at 189,289 mt (115,034 mt).
Zero-emission fuels and vessels will need to start being deployed at scale over the next decade to achieve full decarbonization of the shipping sector by 2050.
Bunker fuel availability has improved in Chinese river ports, while longer lead times are recommended for VLSFO stems in Singapore this week.
Debunkering operation expected to be carried out on SM Busan on Monday and several days will be spent on cleaning the ship’s fuel tanks and engine repairs.
Exports have also decreased, according to International Enterprise Singapore data.
Identified 105 instances of off-spec bunker fuel samples, representing an increase from 61 cases in 1H March.
U.S. Claims Register Summary recorded a total USD 833 million claim from a total 180 creditors against O.W. Bunker USA, according to the creditor list seen by Singapore bunkering publication Manifold Times.
Glencore purchased fuel through Straits Pinnacle which contracted supply from Unicious Energy. Contaminated HSFO was loaded at Khor Fakkan port and shipped to a FSU in Tanjong Pelepas, Malaysia to be further blended.
Individuals were employees of surveying companies engaged by Shell to inspect the volume of oil loaded onto the vessels which Shell supplied oil to; they allegedly accepted bribes totalling at least USD 213,000.
MPA preliminary investigations revealed that the affected marine fuel was supplied by Glencore Singapore Pte Ltd who later sold part of the same cargo to PetroChina International (Singapore) Pte Ltd.
‘MPA had immediately contacted the relevant bunker suppliers to take necessary steps to ensure that the relevant batch of fuel was no longer supplied. Further investigations are currently on-going,’ it informs.
Juandi bin Pungot spent SGD 3.4 million of his criminal benefits on amongst others, cars, luxury watches, and properties, according to documents seen by Singapore bunkering publication Manifold Times.
