Singapore sees LNG as only viable and scalable greener fuel for now

A five-year extension of the Maritime Singapore Green Initiative (MSGI) to 2024 sees a shift in focus to decarbonisation and includes incentives related to the adoption of LNG as a marine fuel. The extentions and new incentives were announced by Maritime & Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) chief executive Quah Ley Hoon at the Singapore Registry of Ships (SRS) Forum on Friday morning.

New carbon emissions-related incentives will replace existing sulphur-emissions related incentives in the Green Ship and Green Port Programmes under the (MSGI). The new Green Ship incentive programme will encourage the adoption of engines using alternative fuels with lower carbon content such as LNG and the Green Port Programme will introduce new incentives for LNG bunkering during port stays and ship’s exceeding the IMO’s EEDI requirements.

Quah said: “We recognise that it will still take some time for the industry to develop the shipping that can meet IMO 2050 target. In the interim, Singapore is LNG-bunkering ready. LNG is a cleaner and greener fuel than existing available options and only the viable solution at scale for the shipping industry now.”

She said that MPA would be giving LNG a “bigger push”. The authority has already co-funded to two LNG bunker tankers for ship-to-ship bunkering from Q3 2020, and licenses have ben awarded for LNG bunkering to FueLNG and Pavillion. The MPA is also preparing for the first simultaneous LNG bunkering and cargo operations next year.

“We are excited about the developments in LNG bunkering and will continue to work with partners to develop our ecosystem and infrastructure to position ourselves as a key LNG bunkering hub for the region and the world,” Quah said.

In the longer term options such as synthetic LNG could offer a greater level of CO2 and Greenhouse Gas emission reductions from using natural gas as a marine fuel.