SINGAPORE, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) -- Singapore's Senior Minister of State for Transport and Health Lam Pin Min said on Wednesday that the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) has allocated five million Singapore dollars (about 3.64 million U.S. dollars) under the Green Energy Programme to support the development and use of cleaner alternative marine fuels such as biofuels and methanol.
He said in his opening address at the 20th Singapore International Bunkering Conference and Exhibition (SIBCON) that companies can use the fund in their research and development in alternative fuels to meet future greenhouse gas emissions regulations.
Lam said the MPA is working closely with the industry to ensure Singapore is ready for the International Maritime Organization (IMO)'s 0.5 percent Global Sulphur Limit, which will take effect from the beginning of 2020, and can supply low-sulphur compliant fuels ahead of the date.
"MPA will make available the list of licensed bunker suppliers of low-sulphur fuels in Singapore by mid-2019," he said.
The two-day SIBCON features key international speakers and brings together bunkering professionals, academic experts and high-level industry executives to exchange ideas on current trends and the future of the bunker industry.
On the first day of the event, ExxonMobil has confirmed that all its IMO compliant, 0.5 percent sulphur fuels developed to date, are residual grades. It has also announced specification details and confirmed that the formulations are all compatible with each other, provided that bunkering, storage and handling best practice guidance is followed.
