Opening Remarks by Senior Minister of State for Transport Mr Chee Hong Tat at the 22nd Singapore International Bunkering Conference and Exhibition (SIBCON)

Ladies and Gentlemen,

1.     Good morning. It is great to see all of you here in person at the 22nd Singapore International Bunkering Conference and Exhibition, or SIBCON. 

Singapore – World’s Leading Bunkering Port

2.     The Port of Singapore has remained a reliable and trusted partner for the shipping community during the COVID-19 pandemic. We remained the top bunkering port in 2021 with total bunker sales of more than 50 million tonnes, including Liquefied Natural Gas or LNG bunkers sold via ship-to-ship arrangements for the first time. 

3.     Looking ahead, the global environment has become more uncertain and there are some dark clouds in the horizon. In times of uncertainty, Maritime Singapore needs to continue transforming ourselves to remain relevant as a global hub port and international maritime centre. To prepare ourselves for the journey towards decarbonisation, tripartite collaboration between government, industry and unions remains key for us to jointly develop solutions and to tackle challenges.

Tackling near-term challenges

4.     Our near-term strategy focuses on three key areas –  providing quality assurance, enhancing services through digitalisation, and taking steps to kick start our decarbonisation journey.

Providing Quality Assurance for the Industry

5.     First, the Port of Singapore will continue to provide fuel quality assurance to the industry. In February and March this year, several ships were supplied with bunker fuels contaminated with high levels of Chlorinated Organic Compounds or COCs. MPA promptly took steps to deal with the incident and to update the industry and the public regularly and openly. MPA has also informed the International Maritime Organization (IMO) of its investigations and actions taken, as well as key learning points to strengthen bunker quality assurance.

6.     MPA and the Singapore Shipping Association are co-chairing an industry expert group to strengthen fuel quality checks. The group aims to make its recommendations to strengthen the quality assurance of bunkers supplied in Singapore by the first quarter of next year. 

Digital Bunkering

7.     Second, we will push on with our efforts to digitalise bunkering services. Last year, MPA launched a MINT Fund Call-For-Proposal to enhance end-to-end operations efficiency and transparency in the bunker industry. Projects that are currently on trial include the development of mobile and cloud applications to digitalise documentations such as electronic bunker delivery note (e-BDN), as well as the development of next generation data-loggers for the Mass Flow Meter (MFM) systems. 

8.     These trials have been progressing well. One of the supported companies, Bunkerchain, a local start-up, will be signing a collaboration MOU today with its project partner, S&P Global Market Intelligence. Together, they aim to develop the world’s first digital identities for vessels tied to the IMO Database called Marine Vessel Pass (MVP). This could enable vessels to do away with wet ink ship stamps and physical signatures.

9.     We are also supporting another company, Angsana Technology, which is working to enable the verification of the e-BDN through integration with TradeTrust – a blockchain-based digital utility comprising of globally-accepted standards and frameworks which have been implemented for HealthCerts. 

10.    These solutions will help to cut red tape, improve efficiency by simplifying workflows and documentation, as well as automate regulatory reporting processes, and can help users to save time and save money.

Achieving Medium-term Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction

11.    Third, the shipping industry is exploring innovative methods to reduce carbon emissions and reach our decarbonisation targets. This is not only for the shipping and maritime industry, but actually for all industries – it is a global effort that we need to embark on.

12.    For companies, they can reduce fuel consumption through optimising operations and adopting technologies that increase energy efficiency. During a recent trip to Tokyo with our representatives from unions and the Singapore Shipping Association, I learnt that age-old technology such as sails and kites are making a comeback to help vessels harness wind energy and solar energy. 

13.    These initiatives can help to reduce energy demand and reap lifecycle cost savings and can be pursued regardless of the choice of marine fuels. They help shipping companies to reduce costs and lower carbon emissions, which is good for business and also good for the environment. Saving money and reducing carbon emissions – I think it is a win-win. 

LNG as a Transition Fuel

14.    On alternative fuels, we believe LNG is a pragmatic transition fuel which is available today to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 

15.    Growing confidence in LNG as a marine fuel is reflected by the existing order book with approximately 30% of the gross tonnage on order being LNG dual-fuelled or “LNG capable”. Significant funding is going into R&D and engine development to address methane slippage concerns. While LNG is not zero carbon emissions, it is a better alternative as compared to the traditional bunker fuel. We are still exploring and conducting research on other zero carbon fuels, but they are not commercially feasible at this stage on a large scale. Therefore we want to take a practical step to use LNG as a transition fuel.

16.    I believe LNG has the potential to achieve even greater reduction in emissions through bio-LNG or synthetic LNG. SEA-LNG and Singapore’s Maritime Energy and Sustainable Development Centre of Excellence (MESD) will be launching their study and findings on bio-LNG as a pathway for further reduction in emissions later today.

17.    Singapore is already ready to supply LNG bunker, we completed a total of 24 ship-to-ship (STS) transfer operations in 2021. We will continue to build up our capabilities in this area, and are looking forward to the completion of Singapore’s second LNG bunker vessel, Brassavola, which was christened yesterday. I remember our first LNG bunker vessel, FueLNG Bellina, as that was christened by my wife in October 2020.

Quantity and Quality Standards for Biofuels

18.    Moving on to biofuels, Singapore is preparing ourselves to bunker biofuels to ocean-going ships. Approximately 70,000 tonnes of biofuel have been supplied in Singapore across more than 40 biofuel bunkering operations using existing bunker tankers. 

19.    On quantity assurance, we have observed that Mass Flow Meters or MFMs are able to accurately handle biofuel. The Technical Committee for Bunkering will continue to study the impact of biofuel on the metrological accuracy of the installed MFMs and will work towards the inclusion of biofuel within the code of practice for bunker mass flow metering or the SS:648.

20.    On quality assurance, the International Organisation for Standardization or the ISO is developing quality standards for marine biofuels. In the interim, we have worked with industry, academia, and other agencies to develop a national standard on the specifications of marine biofuels, which will be useful for bunker suppliers and buyers. Standards may sound very technical or boring, but they are important as a common reference point that is accepted by all parties, and that gives confidence when they transact. I just want to take this opportunity to acknowledge and pay tribute to all the hard work that our industry experts, researchers and government regulators have put in behind the scenes.

21.    We are trialling the use of biofuel for harbour craft in our port waters. Later this year, MESD will be releasing the findings of its compatibility study on various biofuel types and percentage blends for our harbour craft. We are starting with them to build our confidence and gain experience. We will then apply learning points to bunkering for ocean-going vessels, to serve the needs of the international shipping community. The study included extensive sea trials for a harbour craft provided by York Launch, which were successfully conducted with no operational or technical issues. We encourage more operators to start piloting the use of biofuel in our port. Interested parties can reach out to MPA.

Electrification of Harbour Craft

22.    Another promising pathway for short-range shipping is electrification. We are making headway in this area with the deployment of MPA Guardian, a hybrid-electric patrol and emergency response craft. We will continue to advance the development of full electric harbour craft pilots through industry-led consortiums and will also work closely with research institutions. 

23.    Shell has also contracted Penguin International to design, build and operate at least three full electric ferries – I understand this is a first for Shell globally. We welcome and applaud Shell’s efforts in supporting the electrification of harbour craft, as a way of reducing carbon emissions. 

24.    The momentum for green maritime operations continues to grow in Singapore. Earlier this year, Kuok (Singapore) Limited Maritime Group launched the Coastal Sustainability Alliance, which will design, build and deploy 10 electric vessels by 2025 and they are expected to invest over S$20 million into sustainability efforts over the next 10 years. 

Charting the path for the long term

25.    Let me now turn to longer-term strategies. The National Climate Change Secretariat in Singapore is leading a public consultation for potentially raising our level of ambition to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. Our push for the electrification of local harbour craft will contribute to this national effort.

26.    Our research centres, as well as the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD), are conducting several industry trials on reducing shipping emissions. For example, GCMD is supporting the development of an assurance framework for drop-in biofuels and they are also looking into an ammonia bunkering safety study.

27.    At the port-to-port level, MPA is working with like-minded ports such as the Port of Rotterdam to establish green and digital shipping corridors, which will harmonise standards and exchange expertise to accelerate maritime decarbonisation. We are discussing with other port authorities to see how we can grow this network, and create a global network of green shipping corridors between key ports around the world.  

Preparing for a Multi-fuel Future

28.    In the longer term, we envisage a multi-fuel future where hydrogen derived from renewables and its carriers as well as biogenic fuels could play important roles in the decarbonisation of shipping. Methanol could become accessible to the marine industry in this decade, while ammonia could be trialled perhaps towards the end of the decade.

29.    As the top bunkering port, Singapore will work closely with the shipping community on the introduction of these fuels in Singapore. For example, Maersk has forged ahead by ordering methanol fuelled vessels and they are also entering strategic partnerships to accelerate the development of producing green methanol at scale. We welcome the collaboration between Maersk Oil Trading, Mitsui & Co. and the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) who will be undertaking a feasibility study on methanol bunkering logistics in Singapore.  

30.    MPA has also joined various joint industry projects such as the Castor Initiative, Itochu consortium and the SABRE consortium to work towards the development of ammonia bunkering. International partners such as the Society for Gas as a Marine Fuel (SGMF) have set out to help various stakeholders understand the feasibility of ammonia as a marine fuel through their work on an introductory guide to ammonia, which will be launched later this year.

31.    We have also been studying other emerging hydrogen carriers, such as Methyl-Cyclo-Hexane (MCH), through institutions like the new NUS Centre for Hydrogen Innovations.

32.    Some of these are still at the early stage of research and development, and we hope to expand these to a larger platform through public and private partnerships. This will require collaboration between various players such as regulators, industries, fuel suppliers, vessel owners and our unions. Partnership and collaboration are the best way for us to address these uncertainties and forge ahead. 

Conclusion

33.    I am heartened to see a significant commitment in recent years from the maritime sector to accelerate decarbonisation. Forums such as SIBCON are good platforms to  exchange expertise and ideas, and foster stronger collaboration among industry players. I look forward to seeing more of such collaborations initiated through the many conversations at SIBCON 2022.
 
34.    Let me conclude by wishing everyone a fruitful conference ahead. Thank you.