MPA: contaminated bunker loaded in UAE

At least 34 vessels had been supplied with the fuel which contained high levels of Chlorinated Organic Compounds (COC) (1,2-Dichloroethane, Tetrachloroethylene) in the Port of Singapore. The fuel led to fuel system failures, blackouts or engine problems in around half of the vessels, according to fuel and oil testing firm Veritas Petroleum Services (VPS).

The MPA has traced the HSFO back to fuel purchased by Glencore Singapore in January and February 2022 through Straits Pinnacle, which had contracted its supply from Unicious Energy. The contaminated HSFO was loaded on to a tanker at the Port of Khor Fakkan and shipped to floating storage facilities in Tanjong Pelepas, Malaysia, to be further blended. The blended HSFO was subsequently delivered to storage facilities in Singapore. Part of the blended HSFO was also sold by Glencore to PetroChina International (Singapore).

Fuel onboard the tanker was found to contain high concentrations of COC, of up to 21,000 ppm. Forensic fingerprinting analysis of the fuel samples taken from the tanker showed a match with the samples taken from several affected ships that had taken HSFO from Glencore and PetroChina. The forensic fingerprinting analysis established with reasonable certainty that contaminated fuel onboard affected ships had likely come from the same source.

MPA has established that both Glencore and PetroChina, as MPA-licensed bunker suppliers, had carried out tests on the fuel supplied based on the international standards of petroleum products of fuel – ISO 8217. However, as the current international standards do not require tests for COC, the contamination was not promptly detected.

PetroChina and Glencore have since stopped supplying the affected fuel, and the MPA has not received any report of fuel containing high COC supplied by the two suppliers since 31 March 2022.

The MPA encourages bunker buyers to ask their bunker suppliers for COC tesing.

MPA and the Singapore Shipping Association (SSA) are currently in discussions with the industry on measures to strengthen the quality assurance of bunkers supplied in Singapore. MPA and SSA will co-chair an industry expert group, which will include relevant professional bodies, to establish a list of chemicals to be tested and their corresponding concentration limits. The expert group is expected to make its recommendations on additional measures to strengthen bunker quality assurance of bunkers delivered in Singapore, on an urgent basis.

MPA has also raised this issue at the international level. At the MSC105 working group meeting on ‘Measures to enhance safety of ships related to use of fuel oil’ held between 20 and 29 April 2022, MPA informed said it will be submitting a paper on the recent contamination case in due course.