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As the 1st January implementation date for the compulsory use of mass flow metering (MFM) systems for marine fuel oil (MFO) deliveries in Singapore fast approaches, the latest data from the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) shows that, as of 28th December, 135 of the 210 MPA-licensed bunker tankers have been approved for mass flow meter bunkering.

So far this year, 80 tankers with MFMs installed have been approved by the MPA. During the month of December, 11 have been authorized to carry out MFM deliveries.

The 11 bunker vessels are: Delphine, Brightoil 329, Kitek 9, Congo, Luna, Nitsa, Villa, Eager, Oprah, Ophelia and Brightoil 326.

Please find below a month-by-month breakdown of the number of vessels that gained MFM approval in 2016.

Jan - 2
Feb - 3
Mar - 5
Apr - 7
May - 3
Jun - 12
Jul - 7
Aug - 5
Sep - 8
Oct - 9
Nov - 8
Dec - 11

Singapore's 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.

The figure of 135 approved bunker vessels is within the range of the MPA's expectations in November. During last month's IBIA's Annual Convention, Md Elfian Harun, Assistant Director (Bunker Services) at the MPA, was quoted as saying: "We are expecting around 130 MPA-approved MFM bunker tankers to serve the port from 1st January.