The Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) of Singapore has stripped marine fuel services provider Southernpec (Singapore) Pte Ltd of its licence to operate bunker barges that refuel ships in the port effective on May 8, the regulator said.
The MPA has revoked Southernpec’s craft operator licence after investigations revealed it had engaged in bunkering malpractice, using a magnet to interfere with the mass flow meter (MFM) during a fuelling operation, it said in a statement.
The MPA is separately investigating Southernpec for possible breaches of the terms and conditions of its bunker supplier licence, the statement said, without giving further details.
A Southernpec representative declined to comment because he was not authorized to speak on the matter.
Last month, the MPA had suspended Southernpec’s licence as it began the investigation.
Powerful magnets can distort MFM measurements for delivered marine fuels, making it possible to short deliveries to customers, according trade sources.
Southernpec is now prohibited from operating bunker craft in the Port of Singapore, but the company is still licensed by the MPA as a bunker fuels supplier, according to data on the MPA website that is dated May 7.
Southernpec in 2018 ranked as Singapore’s 30th-largest marine fuel supplier by volumes delivered out of 51 other operators, according to the MPA.
