The decarbonization of ships is actually the decarbonization of the bunkering. As the world's number one fueling port, Singapore has a vital role to play in the process. Successive Singapore governments, NGOs and other agencies have supported a number of initiatives to move the nation and industry on the zero carbon path..

There is a complex network of state institutions and NGOs that participate in this process. They include

• Singapore Ministry of Transport and Health. Chief Minister of State: Chee Hong Tat (former Chief Private Secretary to the late Lee Kuan Yew). Minister of Transport: Mr. Ong Ye Kung (former Director of Group Strategy at Keppel Corporation)
• The Ministry of Sustainability and Environment of Singapore. Minister: Mrs. Grace Fu
• Maritime Institute of Singapore. President: Mr. Wong Weng Sun
• Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA). CEO: Ms. Quah Ley Hoon. Chief Technology Officer and Senior Director of Innovation, Technology and Talent Development: Mr. Kenneth Lim
• Singapore Maritime Foundation (SMF). President: Andreas Sohmen-Pao. Executive Director: Mr. Sanjay C Kuttan
• International Consultative Group on Maritime Decarbonization (IAP). Co-chair: Andreas Sohmen-Pao and Wong Weng Sun
• Enterprise Singapore (ES). CEO: Mr. Png Cheong Boon

Several companies are also central to Singapore's role as the leading low-carbon bunker port. They include

Singapore LNG Corporation Pte Ltd, which runs the Singapore LNG terminal on Jurong Island

• Pavillion Energy: Licensed LNG bunker provider, a subsidiary of Temasek
• FuelLNG - Licensed LNG bunker provider, a joint venture owned by Keppel Offshore & Marine and Shell Eastern Petroleum (Pte) Ltd.
• PSA Marine: ex-port corporation of the Singapore Authority. It operates more than 60 port tugs, including several LNG vessels. Based in Singapore but with operations throughout Asia.

Singapore launched the Singapore Maritime Green Initiative through the AMP in 2011, tasked with reducing the industry's environmental impact. In 2019, the Initiative was extended until 2024 with an annual investment of US $ 100 million in those five years, spread over four projects: the Green Ships Program, the Green Ports Program, the Energy Program and Green Technology and the Green Awareness Program. The projects offer incentives to companies that adopt environmentally friendly practices.

The Green Ship Program reduces fees for Singapore-flagged ships that adopt energy-efficient practices that exceed IMO regulations, and for ships that use LNG or other low-carbon fuels.

The Green Ports Program reduces port charges for vessels going to sea that exceed the IMO's Energy Efficiency Design Index or use LNG fuel within the boundaries of Singapore ports. More incentives are offered to use LNG-powered port vessels while in Singapore's port limits, such as the LNG-powered port tugs operated by PSA Marine.

The Green Energy and Technology Program funds technology and pilot studies for projects aimed at reducing marine emissions.

The Green Awareness Program promotes best environmental practices in shipping and encourages shipping companies to embrace carbon accounting and reporting.

The AMP's greatest success to date is perhaps the introduction of LNG sourcing. Starting in 2017, a three-year pilot study was conducted to test operational practices and gain experience in the LNG marine fuel storage and delivery process.

Several corporations are key to this development. Singapore LNG Corporation Pte Ltd, owned by Temasek, operates the Singapore LNG terminal on Jurong Island. This is the hub from which the LNG will be delivered as marine fuel.

To date, several LNG sourcing licenses have been granted to Pavilion Energy Pte Ltd, FuelLNG and Sinanju Tankers Holdings.

Pavilion established its LNG trading desk in March 2014. In May of that year, Pavilion and the BW Group established a joint venture to acquire, manage and charter LNG vessels. This was followed by agreements in the same year in which Total and BP supplied LNG to Pavilion. In January 2016 a bunker supply license was granted. In June 2018, Pavilion and Total agreed to develop an LNG bunker supply chain in Singapore, including long-term joint chartering of an LNG supply vessel. That November Pavilion agreed to the long-term charter of two new MEGI LNG vessels with BW Group.

In February 2019, Pavilion agreed to charter a newly built LNG tanker from Mitsui OSK of Japan. The 12,300 cubic meter GTT Mark 3 flexible membrane LNG tanker will be jointly managed by Mitsui OSK and Sinanju, a Singaporean tanker operator that was acquired by oil trader Vitol in April 2020. The Singapore Maritime Authority awarded a $ 3 million grant to cover the cost of the vessel, which is currently being built at Sembcorp Marine's shipyards in Singapore and is scheduled to start operations in the first quarter of 2021.

Pavilion Energy Pte Ltd announced the first commercial ship-to-ship LNG bunkering operation on April 30, 2019. 2,000 cubic meters of LNG was pumped into an LNG tanker at the Singapore shipyards. Pavilion Energy Pte Ltd. agreed to a five-year lease of 18,000 cubic meters of segregated LNG storage and recharge at the Singapore LNG terminal in March 2020. Segregated storage enables faster turnaround of operations to support the sourcing of LNG.

FuelLNG is a joint venture between Keppel Offshore & Marine and Shell Eastern Petroleum. It began its operations. Like Pavilion, it was granted its LNG bunker supplier license by the MPA in 2016. It has already conducted more than 200 truck-to-ship LNG bunkering operations. In 2018, FueLNG ordered a 7,500 cubic meter vessel from the Keppel Singmarine shipyard in Nantong, China. The MPA contributed S$ 2.5 million towards the cost of the vessel. The $37.5 million vessel was launched in May 2020. The ship's christening ceremony took place on October 1, 2020. The FuelLNG Bellina is named after a species of orchid. The orchid is also mentioned in the Chinese characters for Pavilion Energy - 蘭亭能源 "Lan Ting Neng Yuan". Ship management will be provided by Japan's K Line.

Sinanju Marine Services Pte Ltd is a historically established bunker provider in Singapore. In August 2019, Sinanju signed a two-year charter contract with Exxon Mobil Asia-Pacific for the construction of the new bunker Tanker Marine Vicky. The vessel is powered by LNG, allowing you a 10% discount on port fees, but it also delivers traditional petroleum-based fuels and LNG. It was launched at the Keppel Offshore & Marine shipyard in Nantong (China) in September 2019 and started operations in June 2020. In April 2020, the oil trading company Vitol acquired all of the shares in Sinanju, and the company was renamed Vitol Bunkers (S) Pte Ltd.

On September 10, 2020, the renamed Vitol Marine Vicky received 34 cubic meters of LNG from two trucks operated by Pavilion Energy. The transfer ushered in regular truck-to-ship deliveries from Pavilion vehicles to the tanker.

While Singapore's efforts have focused on sourcing LNG, the city-state is also thinking long-term about domestic decarbonization and its role in decarbonizing shipping. Some recent developments include:

In March 2020, a Singapore / Japan consortium agreed to research and develop technology for the import, storage and use of hydrogen as a marine fuel.

In April 2020, the government launched its Long-Term Low Emissions Development Strategy, which encompasses a series of national low-carbon and sustainable programs. These include a plan to decarbonize Singapore's maritime sector by 2050 to set targets for a zero-carbon maritime industry in the nation, the establishment of the International Advisory Group co-chaired by Andreas Sohmen Pao of BW Group and Mr. Wong Weng Sun from the Singapore Maritime Institute.

In June this year, the storage company Vopak and the Itochu Corporation of Japan established another consortium to write a feasibility study to develop the infrastructure to provide ammonia supply in Singapore at the Vopak terminal in Banyan. The two companies are already participating in a consortium to develop ammonia supply, sponsored by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan.

Minister Grace Fu told the Singapore Parliament on September 11, 2020 that Sustainability projects in the Lion City would create 4,000 "new and updated" jobs in the next year and 40,000 jobs in the next decade.

Minister Ong Ye Kung addressed the IMO webinar "The Future of Shipping: Decarbonisation" on 17 September. She briefed the 500 participants from 63 countries on Singapore initiatives such as the Tuas Port, the largest automated port in the world to dispense with conventional diesel-powered container transporters to handle twice as many 20-foot equivalent units with half the carbon emissions intensity compared to 2005.

On the same date, Singapore and IMO jointly launched the NextGEN concept, an online platform to share information on decarbonization initiatives among stakeholders around the world. The idea is to bring together IMO Member States, academics and industry specialists to identify opportunities and gaps in the decarbonization process, as well as create networks and cooperation platforms to exploit these gaps and opportunities. The application of NextGEN will continue to be discussed at the Future of Shipping Conference, scheduled for February 2021 in Singapore. The workshops dedicated to NextGEN will create a "map" of decarbonization projects that can be shared with IMO member states.

On September 23, the MPA and SMI launched a joint call for proposals to electrify the dozens of port vessels serving the Port of Singapore. A contribution of $ 9 million from the Maritime Fund of the Green Future will co-finance all-electric port vessels and charging infrastructure, favoring business models that offer scalability.

Through Enterprise Singapore and Innovation Norway, the Asian and Scandinavian nation agreed on September 29 to collaborate on innovation in the maritime sector, as well as in other sectors, including business round tables, study visits, trade missions and creation activities. of networks.

Singapore has a history of innovation and state sponsorship for real world investment in physical assets, promoting employment and economic growth through adoption. The government clearly views maritime decarbonization as both an opportunity and a challenge. We can expect to see much more of the Lion City on the zero carbon sailing journey.