Bunkering sector aims to enforce high standards

ACCORDING to the event organisers, some 1,500 participants from 500 companies and 60 countries will gather here next week for the 19th Singapore International Bunkering Conference and Exhibition (SIBCON). They will have a lot to talk about.

This year's SIBCON comes at a particularly challenging time for the bunkering sector, as yet another major company gets into serious trouble. Whether or not container shipping line Hanjin eventually survives, its restructuring bid and inability to pay its bills are already wreaking havoc. For an industry that is still dealing with the OW Bunker bankruptcy, this latest collapse was the last thing it needed.

While unpaid bills can put the survival of bunker suppliers in jeopardy, something has occurred since the seriousness of the Hanjin situation became apparent that ha…