Two global bunkering companies awarded licences in Singapore

TWO global bunkering companies have been awarded new bunker-supplier licences to operate in Singapore's port, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and Enterprise Singapore (ESG) announced in a joint statement on Monday night.

The entry of Minerva Bunkering and TFG Marine will consolidate Singapore's position as the global bunkering and oil trading hub, said the agencies. This brings the total number of MPA-licensed bunker suppliers in the port to 45.

The new players will increase the supply of marine fuel that complies with the International Maritime Organization 2020 sulphur regulations in the Singapore bunker market, said MPA and ESG. They will each also be required to operate at least two clean-energy dual-fuelled bunker barges, to drive sustainable bunkering activities.

Minerva Bunkering and TFG Marine are entities related by shareholding to Mercuria Group and Trafigura respectively, two of the world's largest independent energy-trading companies with significant presence in Singapore.

The agencies said that bunkering services in the port, and oil trading, remain resilient despite the global Covid-19 pandemic. Bunker sales in Singapore were 12.7 million tonnes in the first quarter of 2020, up 5.4 per cent from 12.1 million tonnes in the year-ago period.

MPA said it "will continue to work closely with industry stakeholders to carry out periodic reviews to establish a robust regulatory framework that ensures the quality and availability of bunker in the Port of Singapore".

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In a Facebook post, Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan noted reports on the financial woes of oil trader Hin Leong Trading, whose bunkering service arm Ocean Bunkering Services is a major player in Singapore's bunkering sector.

"While there is some immediate collateral impact through credit-tightening on other bunkering players, it is manageable," said Mr Khaw. "Our priority is to ensure that our bunkering sector remains robust. And it is."

Other existing bunker suppliers have immediately come in to fill the gap, and it is fortuitous that MPA invited bids for new bunker suppliers last December, he added, noting the two new licences issued on Monday.