Singapore’s annual sales of alternative bunker fuels reached new highs in 2024, according to Murali Pillai, the minister of state for law and transport.

He said despite strained global supply chains, Maritime Singapore has maintained strong growth momentum in 2024 and looks forward to continued steady growth in 2025. 

Total bunker sales registered a new high of 54.92 million metric tons, marking a 6 percent year-on-year increase.

The increased uptake was partly due to the extended Asia-Europe shipping routes via the Cape of Good Hope given the disruptions in the Red Sea.

Singapore made steady progress as the world’s largest bunkering port, supplying over a sixth of the total fuel used by global shipping. 

Sales of alternative bunker fuels exceeded 1 million tons for the first time to reach 1.34 million tons in 2024, a year-on-year doubling.

Specifically, the sale of biofuel blends grew from 0.52 million tons in 2023 to 0.88 million tons.

Biofuel blends of up to B50 are available commercially with trials of up to B100 ongoing.

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) increased from 0.11 million tons in 2023 to 0.46 million tons.

An expression of interest was launched in December to explore scalable solutions for sea-based LNG reloading to complement the existing onshore LNG bunkering storage and jetty capacities and support the supply of eMethane/biomethane as marine fuel in Singapore.

Methanol was available on a commercial scale and registered 1,626 tons, while 9.74 tons of ammonia was bunkered for the first time globally in trials in Singapore’s port. 

Last year, 29 Singapore-flagged ships from 12 companies received Green Ship Certificates under the Green Ship Programme.

In April 2024, Eastern Pacific Shipping signed a memorandum of understanding with the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore committing several of its ammonia dual-fuel newbuilds to be registered under the Singapore Registry of Ships upon delivery.

More of such vessels using new fuels are expected to use Singapore as the flag of choice in the coming years.

In March 2024, Fortescue, with support from MPA, successfully conducted the world’s first use of ammonia in combination with diesel as marine fuel onboard the Singapore-flagged ammonia-powered vessel Fortescue Green Pioneer.

To support the operationalization of ammonia bunkering, EnterpriseSG and MPA will develop the Singapore standards for ammonia bunkering in 2025.

The lead developer for a low- or zero-carbon ammonia power generation and bunkering solution on Jurong Island under the request for proposal launched by MPA and the Energy Market Authority of Singapore is expected to be announced in 2025.

MPA also worked with its counterparts to develop the interim guidelines for the use of ammonia as fuel, which was adopted by the International Maritime Organization at the Maritime Safety Committee during its 109th session in December. 

The first simultaneous methanol bunkering and cargo operations (SIMOPS) was conducted in May at the Tuas Port.

The use of the mass-flow metering (MFM) system for methanol, together with the use of digital bunkering, was also trialed during the SIMOPS.

MPA is currently developing the technical reference for methanol bunkering, which will cover safety procedures, crew competencies, custody-transfer requirements and the framework to govern the use of the MFM and digital-documentation records for methanol bunkering.

This technical reference is expected to be released in 2025.

In April, MPA established the Maritime Energy Training Facility to train the global maritime workforce in handling and operating vessels using clean marine fuels.

The network of industry-supported training establishments is expected to be fully developed by 2026 and will train around 10,000 seafarers and other maritime personnel by the 2030s.

There are currently 52 METF training partners comprising global marine engine manufacturers, international organizations, classification societies, trade associations, unions and institutes of higher learning.

Over 400 seafarers and maritime professionals have undergone training under the METF.  

In 2024, MPA signed two new green and digital shipping corridors (GDSCs) MOUs with Australia and Shandong, China.

These add to the four GDSCs established earlier with the Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands, the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in the U.S., Tianjin in China, and Japan.

In October, the Singapore-Rotterdam GDSC successfully completed a pilot for the bunkering of mass-balanced liquefied biomethane at the Port of Rotterdam.

A similar trial is planned in Singapore in 2025.

In addition, the corridor partners issued a call-for-proposal in April 2024 to develop solutions for efficient and secure data exchange between ship and shore.

MPA has since shortlisted seven solution providers and trials will be conducted with both ports early this year.