The
International Bunker Industry Association (IBIA) says that
Singapore is "well prepared" for the compulsory use of mass flow metering (MFM) systems for marine fuel oil (MFO) deliveries from January 2017 as nearly all of the supply barges licensed to operate at the Asian port now have approved systems.
The number of barges with MFM systems approved by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) is said to have reached 128 as of 13th December. Two barges are currently being assessed while another four barges are scheduled for the MFM test by the end of the year, according to IBIA.
"This means about 98 percent of fuel oil barges registered in Singapore are expected to be ready to comply," IBIA said on Thursday.
The MPA reported in October, that
110 bunker tankers had been approved to perform MFM deliveries in the port of Singapore, and that 23 bunker tankers were scheduled for installation and testing before the end of the year.
The following month, at IBIA's Annual Convention in November,
Md Elfian Harun, Assistant Director (Bunker Services) at the MPA, said that 117, or 88 percent, of fuel oil barges in Singapore had approved MFM systems as of early November.
"We are expecting around 130 MPA-approved MFM bunker tankers to serve the port from 1st January 2017 onwards," Harun said at the bunker event.
Intoduction of MFMs in Singapore
The use of MFMs - instead of manual methods of measuring delivered quantity - is designed to provide a number benefits to vessel operators, suppliers and regulatory bodies. These include enhanced accuracy as a result of measuring fuel mass, increased efficiency - thus saving time during bunkering operations - and reduced uncertainties related to variables, including density and temperature.
The technology directly measures fuel mass - instead of volume - to provide an accurate measurement for vessel operators. An MFM system's seals can also be validated by independent third parties in order to enhance traceability and help to ensure system integrity.
Singapore began work to introduce MFMs in 2009. In 2012, an
ExxonMobil-chartered bunker tanker was the first in Singapore to use a mass flow metering system approved by the MPA for the commercial transfer of bunker fuel. The MFM-aided fuel transfer between the bunker tanker
MT Emissary and
Kota Layang
took place on 11th July 2012.
TR 48:2015 and SOP
The world's first national technical reference (TR) for bunker mass flow metering - the Singapore Mass Flow Meter (MFM) Technical Reference, or
TR 48:2015 - was developed by a technical committee comprising Spring Singapore, the Maritime and Port Authority, A*Star and stakeholders from the marine and oil and gas industry. It was launched on 16th February 2016, implemented in June 2016 and specified the mandatory use of MFMs for MFO deliveries from 1st January 2017.
The technical reference sets out specific criteria for metering system qualification, installation, acceptance testing, delivery procedures and the documentation for the transfer of fuel between a supplier and a buyer.
In May, in response to the introduction of TR 48:2015, IBIA developed a
standard operating procedure (SOP) for bunker quantity surveyors to oversee bunkering operations involving MFM systems.
The new Singapore regulation means only barges with a MFM system approved by the MPA will be allowed to supply marine fuel at the port from 1st January 2017.
It also means that the MFM volume reading becomes binding when bunkering fuel oil in Singapore. This is expected to reduce the number of quantity disputes because the MPA-approved systems have been rigorously tested and should, in theory, be tamper proof.
The future
Last month, Sinagpore consultancy Metcore International Pte Ltd said that it
expected to see more bunker vessels around the world with TR48-accredited MFMs over the next few years as it had already received "many enquiries" from bunker suppliers in other ports to assist in the installation and system accreditation of MFMs.
Also in the future, Singapore could see the introduction of MFMs for distillate deliveries and real-time electronic bunker delivery notes.
