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S'pore's mandatory mass flow meter move saves time for owners

S'pore's mandatory mass flow meter move saves time for owners
A bold step taken by Singapore to mandate the use of mass flow meters for bunkering will slash the time needed on bunker delivery and increase the turnaround time for bunker tankers, raising overall efficiency for the world's largest bunkering port.

As cost cutting measures are at the top of the agenda for many shipowners, the use of mass flow meters for bunkering is expected to offer owners advantages in seeing shorter bunkering hours as well as receiving a more accurate amount of fuel.

Trials conducted in Singapore have shown that mass flow meters can shorten each bunker delivery by as much as three hours, making the bunker delivery process as short as one hour, down from four to five hours, depending on the delivery volume and vessel type.

In addition, bunker suppliers can gain by turning around their bunker tankers with more loadings and deliveries, significantly increasing from the industry norm of eight deliveries a month, according to Lim Teck Cheng, chief executive of Hong Lam Marine, Singapore's largest bunker tanker operator and owner.

Desmond Chong, general manager of Sinanju, another Singapore barge operator, told Seatrade Global: “In terms of productivity, this is where we look at the turnaround of our bunker tankers and we can do more deliveries with mass flow meters. We can easily do 10-11 vessel turnarounds (in a month).”

Chong explained that the conventional sounding method to measure bunker quantity is time consuming, not to mention additional manual testings such as tape measurements and cross-checkings with calibration tables.

Sinanju currently owns 10 bunker tankers and three of them are already fitted with mass flow meters. The company is planning to get all of its bunker tankers installed with the technology ahead of the mandatory use of the mass flow meters.

Following talks in the market earlier this year on the mandatory use of mass flow meters in Singapore very soon, Singapore's minister for transport Lui Tuck Yew made the official announcement on Tuesday at an industry seminar.

“I am pleased to announce that Singapore will implement mandatory adoption of mass flow meters for bunkering in the port of Singapore from 1 January 2017. As the first port in the world to mandate the use of mass flow meters for bunkering, we will set a new benchmark for bunkering practices worldwide,” Lui said.

All existing bunker tankers operating in Singapore will have to be fitted with an approved mass flow meter by 31 December 2016. In addition, all new bunker tankers applying for Singapore's harbour craft (bunker tanker) licence after 31 December 2014 will need to be fitted with an approved mass flow meter.

To assist the industry to offset a portion of the cost of the mass flow meter system adoption, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) is offering a lump sum incentive of SGD80,000 ($63,800) for each existing bunker tanker delivering marine fuel oil in Singapore port. The incentive will be given out upon MPA's approval of each fitted mass flow meter system.

“With this incentive in place it encourages us to get it [mass flow meters] installed and the incentive will help to defray the cost of installations,” Sinanju's Chong said.

Hong Lam's Lim said that it can cost bunker tanker owners amounts ranging from lows of $30,000-50,000 or as high as $150,000, depending on the condition of the bunker tanker.

To ensure that the mass flow meter system is suitable to be used for bunkering, MPA and SPRING Singapore jointly initiated a MFM Working Group to develop and validate the use of MFM system for bunkering in 2009. The Working Group, which consists of members from Weights and Measures Office of SPRING Singapore, National Metrology Centre @A*Star (NMC), MPA and various stakeholders in the bunkering industry, had conducted extensive trials using mass flow meter system since 2011.

On Tuesday, the NMC announced the opening of its Liquid Flow Laboratory to conduct further R&D in high viscosity fluids and signed a research collaboration agreement with Mogas Flow Lab on the establishment of a primary mass flow standard and facilities for mass flow measurement of marine fuel oil.

In 2013, the port of Singapore recorded bunker sales volume of 42.7m metric tonnes, retaining its position as the world's top bunkering port.

“This is a good move by the MPA as it will offer more transparency in the way we do our bunkering business and Singapore can project itself as a leading bunkering port,” Sinanju's Chong commented.