ZeroNorth: Singapore’s pioneering e-BDN bunkering project makes waves internationally
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by Admin
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA)’s pioneering electronic bunker delivery note (e-BDN) project for the republic’s maritime sector has been steadily gaining attention from overseas, observes the Managing Director of digital bunkering platform solutions provider ZeroNorth Bunker.
“We currently see interest from bunker buyers, shipping firms, barge owners and operators, fuel suppliers and a few port authorities based at the ARA, Mediterranean, Middle East, and the U.S. who are all eyeing to see how the e-BDN project at Singapore turns out,” Kenneth Juhls told Manifold Times.
“This is very much commercially driven as parties in the regions are still trying to figure out how e-BDNs are relevant for their respective locations.”
According to Juhls, recent implementation of the Singapore-Rotterdam Green and Digital Shipping Corridor (GDSC) would suggest that the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) region would be the “next step” to expand e-BDN bunkering operations.
“I see ARA as a good next step to expand e-BDN. ZeroNorth is very keen to engage with all port authorities to share knowledge and hands on experience based on the deployment of e-BDN bunkering operations at Singapore,” he said.
“Obviously, we would love to have a full end-to-end digital solution where the e-BDN is receiving verified information from the mass flowmeter (MFM) so there is no manual intervention; much like Singapore port.
“However, in practise one does not need a MFM-equipped bunker tanker to be able to perform e-BDN bunkering operations.”
Juhls explained digital bunkering platforms are also designed to be adaptive to different situations by allowing manual entry of data in certain circumstances.
“In Singapore, we are still in the integration phase of seamlessly connecting MFM data to the e-BDN system. In the interim, manual data entry, where personnel the tablet to take a photo of the bunker metering ticket and the eBDN app using OCR technology to auto extract the data receipt and key similar information into the tablet, is still being performed,” he said.
“In my understanding, phase two of MPA’s e-BDN integration will look into eliminating this action.”
Moving forward, Juhls says that he wishes for the shipping industry to adopt e-BDN solutions at a quicker pace.
“Singapore is the biggest bunkering port, and thus is a perfect location to kickstart momentum on e-BDN. But we also need to include the whole shipping industry for it to work well,” he said. “We hope that together we’ll be able to spur faster global adoption of e-BDN and enable widespread digital transformation.”
Photo credit: ZeroNorth
Published: 24 April 2024
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