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Storage tank operator Vopak has launched a new service that enables tanker vessels berthing at the firm's Sebarok Terminal in Singapore to undergo bunkering operations at the same time as loading or discharging cargoes, Reuters reports.

Vopak's simultaneous bunkering service is designed to speed up the time it takes vessels to take on bunkers, whilst also reducing congestion. Up until now, tankers calling at the Sebarok Terminal had to refuel by sailing to the anchorage.

The time-saving set-up is the result of a collaboration between Vopak and energy transportation firm BW Pacific, marine fuel supplier and bunker tanker operator Sinanju Marine Services, and Bunker Holding subsidiary Unicore Fuel.

"The new concurrent bunkering service is in line with Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore's directive to improve port efficiency," Vopak said in a statement.

Vopak also said it intends to roll out the simultaneous bunkering service to its other terminals in Singapore.

Vopak's Sebarok Terminal has a total storage capacity of 1.262 million cubic metres (cbm), with 79 tanks ranging in size from 1,300 to 56,000 cbm.

Singapore is the world's leading bunker port by sales volume. Earlier this month, Bunker Index reported that Singapore sold 50 million metric tonnes of bunker fuel over a 12-month period for the first time in its history between October 2016 and September 2017.

The Asian port also sold more than 13 million tonnes of marine fuel over a three-month period for the first time between July and September.