FIRST quarter of the year figures from the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore revealed the predominant fuel choices of shipowners on Asian trading routes who mainly bunker in the city-state, with 96% of the ships that arrived in the Port of Singapore using compliant fuel.
The figures, based on pre-arrival notifications submitted to MPA from January 2020 to March 2020, excludes ships installed with open-loop scrubbers that are required to switch to using compliant fuel upon arriving because of Singapore’s ban on such scrubber types, suggesting actual compliant fuel usage may have been even higher.
Out of the 326 Port State Control and Flag State Control inspections that MPA conducted in the first quarter of 2020, two foreign-flagged vessels were found outright to be using non-compliant fuel while 12 ships, which were not fitted with scrubbers, were found with fuel that marginally exceeded the sulphur limit.
This was most likely because of remnant residues of high-sulphur fuel in the fuel oil tanks and piping, MPA said, adding it the situation to improve over time as fuel oil tanks and piping will be properly flushed with the continual use of compliant fuel.
MPA has informed the respective managers and flag administrations of these ships about the non-compliance, while it has issued each of the vessels flouting the latest International Maritime Organization 2020 mandatory low-sulphur fuel regulation a port state control detention order. They were only allowed to depart from the Port of Singapore after it was verified that they had switched to using compliant fuel, MPA added.
Among the Singapore-flagged fleet, 31 ships installed with scrubbers had reported scrubber malfunctions as of February 29, 2020.
Director of Marine Goh Chung Hun said: “As a leading maritime nation, Singapore is committed to reducing the environmental impact of shipping.”
He added: “By engaging the industry proactively, providing the necessary technical guidance and maintaining an adequate supply of compliant fuel in Singapore, we have ensured a high degree of compliance with IMO 2020 sulphur regulations.”
Separately, MPA said it has initiated a declaration by the 20 members of the Port Authorities Roundtable calling for port authorities to collaborate and share best practices in ensuring that port operations can remain undisrupted in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak.
PAR groups together 20 major ports from Asia, Europe, Middle East and North America including Guangzhou, Shanghai, Abu Dhabi and the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, in addition to Singapore.
MPA chief executive Quah Ley Hoon said: “As the world battles with the Covid-19 pandemic, it has never been more critical to keep our ports open and goods moving.”
The declaration reaffirms their commitment to ensuring their ports remain open amidst the current pandemic and assures that merchant ships can continue to berth at port terminals to carry out cargo operations and keep the global supply chain going, best practices are adopted, according to national circumstances, including precautionary measures for the shipping community, advisories and assistance for shore personnel and ship crew, and safe handling of cargoes during this period, and port authorities continue to share experiences in combating Covid-19 while safeguarding unimpeded maritime trade.
Ms Quah added: “Port authorities have to take enhanced precautions for their ports and on ships, as well as manage the stress faced by our seafarers and maritime personnel.”
No mention was made of a joint policy on crew changes of which many organisations and seafarer welfare groups have been calling.
