Singapore raises limits for licensed bunker ships to carry biofuel blends up to B30

Singapore-registered conventional bunker ships will be allowed to carry and deliver biofuel blends up to B30 without separate approval, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) revealed.

In a circular published on March 6, 2025, MPA announced raising the permissible limits for conventional bunker tankers to carry biofuel blends up to B30 from the current B25.

This initiative, described as Singapore’s commitment to sustainable shipping, comes into effect on March 7, 2025.

In line with this decision, licensed bunker tankers operating in the Port of Singapore will be allowed to carry and deliver biofuels up to B30, without the requirement to seek MPA’s separate approval. For marine biofuel blends of up to B30, bunker suppliers and bunker craft operators need to ensure adequate technical and operational risk assessments are conducted and mutually agreed between buyer and seller prior to the delivery, MPA informed.

For the supply of marine biofuels above B30 or biofuels not listed in chapters 17 and 18 of the IBC code or the MEPC.2/Circ.27 (Annex 11), bunker suppliers and bunker craft operators are required to seek approval from MPA’s Standards & Investigation – Marine Fuels (SIMF) department prior to these pilots and deliveries, the circular states.

Pilots of up to B100 are ongoing and bunker suppliers can engage in these pilots to test the efficacy and processes, MPA explained.

According to the port authority, this implementation comes ahead of the submission of the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO’s) interim circular at the upcoming Marine Environment Protection Committee 83rd session in April, which will allow conventional bunker ships certified under MARPOL Annex I to transport biofuel blends of up to 30%.

As previously reported by MPA, sales of alternative bunker fuels exceeded one million tonnes for the first time to reach 1.34 million tonnes in 2024, with the sale of biofuel blends growing from 0.52 million tonnes in 2023 to 0.88 million tonnes.

While biofuel blends up to B50 are available commercially, trials of up to B100 are ongoing. An example includes a joint endeavor by China Classification Society (CCS), Weichai Singapore, Marine Energy and Sustainability Research Department of Nanyang Technological University (MESD), and Pinnacle Marine to test B100 biofuel for 1,000 hours in Singaporean waters.

To remind, the first marine biofuel trial involving an ocean-going vessel in Singapore was carried out in April 2021.

Come 2024, Vitol Bunkers, a wholly-owned bunker arm of energy and commodities company Vitol, took delivery of its first specialized biofuel bunker barge, Marine Future, in Singapore, enabling the supply of biofuel blends including B24, B30, and up to B100.

The first ever B100 biofuel bunkering in Singapore was conducted by Danish shipping company Norden in May 2024.