The Maritime Port Authority (MPA) said it detained two vessels in the Port of Singapore for not complying with the IMO’s regulations on sulphur emissions in the first quarter of 2020.
In a statement, the MPA said the foreign-flagged vessels were issued a PSC detention order, and were only allowed to depart from the Port of Singapore after it was verified that they had switched to using compliant fuel.
Additionally, the MPA said approximately 96% of vessels that called at Singapore in the first quarter used compliant fuel. This excludes ships installed with open-loop scrubbers that switch to using compliant fuel upon arriving in the Port of Singapore.
In the first quarter of 2020, MPA conducted a total of 326 Port State Control (PSC) and Flag State Control (FSC) inspections in the Port of Singapore.
During these inspections, MPA found 12 ships, which were not fitted with scrubbers, using fuel that marginally exceeded the sulphur limit.
It said this was likely due to “remnant residues of high-sulphur fuel in the fuel oil tanks and piping”.
It expects that in time, the fuel oil tanks and piping will be properly flushed with the continual use of compliant fuel. MPA had informed the respective managers and flag administrations of these ships about the non-compliance.
Goh Chung Hun, MPA’s Director of Marine, said, “As a leading maritime nation, Singapore is committed to reducing the environmental impact of shipping.
“By engaging the industry proactively, providing the necessary technical guidance and maintaining an adequate supply of compliant fuel in Singapore, we have ensured a high degree of compliance with IMO 2020 sulphur regulations. Singapore will continue to play its part to make shipping clean and sustainable.”
