Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) has allocated about USD 3.64 million under the Green Energy Programme to support the development and use of cleaner alternative marine fuels such as biofuels and methanol.
Senior Minister of State, Dr Lam Pin Min announced initiatives by Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said that companies can use the fund in their research and development in alternative fuels to meet future greenhouse gas emissions regulations.
He said, to ready the Singapore bunker industry ahead of the International Maritime Organization’s 0.5 per cent global sulphur cap taking effect from January 2020 and to support R&D in alternative fuels, as well as digitalisation.
Participants will gain insights on trending issues such as global fuel availability, compliance options, enforcement regimes, and the developments for LNG as a marine fuel.
To prepare the industry for the 0.5 per cent global sulphur limit, MPA will publish an information sheet on the list of licensed bunker suppliers of low-sulphur fuels in Singapore by mid-2019. The information sheet will be made available online.
Several bunker suppliers and oil majors including Shell, ExxonMobil and BP have also affirmed their readiness to supply 0.5 per cent compliant fuels by 1 January 2020.
MPA will form a new work group with the industry to embark on an industry road mapping exercise to prepare the Singapore bunker industry for the future. Chaired by MPA, the work group will develop a roadmap that will include drivers such as digitalisation and innovation, and transparency and productivity in the sector. The work group will work towards completing the roadmap by fourth quarter of 2019.