Singapore expecting fewer claims to be filed against marine fuel trades

SINGAPORE is set to see fewer claims filed against marine fuel trades conducted here after the mass flow meter (MFM) mandate entered into force here.

Danny Chua, senior partner of law firm JTJB LLP, said at the Asia Pacific Maritime conference that the notifications on potential claims for trades on marine fuel or bunker recorded with the port have dropped. Singapore has seen a decline after the mandatory use of MFM kicked in from Jan 1, 2017.

Before the introduction of MFM, notifications of claims have already been negligible, ranging under 1 per cent of bunker volumes traded here, he noted.

But the bunker trade has clearly benefited from any further reduction in disputes between suppliers and buyers that is made possible after the MFM mandate.

The use of MFMs, or metered pipes to measure and assess both the quality and quantity of marine fuels, removes human intervention from the process and is touted as improving transparency in bunkering operations.

As at Jan 1, some 142 bunker tankers active in Singapore were installed with MFMs, according to data from the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA). MPA data also reflected an 8.36 per cent increase in the average volume of marine fuel lifted here for each vessel after the adoption of the MFM mandate at the Singapore port.