Singapore yacht bunkering: check the licence, the meter and one signed record

Poon Da Qian

2 hours ago

Close-up of water hose on yacht with ocean in background.

Before a yacht takes fuel alongside in Singapore, three things are worth settling while the yacht is still on its approach: that the supplier appears on MPA's published list of licensed bunker suppliers for the grade the yacht actually takes, that everyone agrees in advance which measurement basis will appear on the bunker delivery note and who witnesses it, and that one signed record survives the call. None of this needs a forecast of what fuel will cost. It is the ordinary verification that makes the invoice match the delivery.

The checks are worth doing now because the surrounding market is unsettled in a specific way. Straits Times reporting on MPA's statistics release of 14 September 2026 recorded 11,631 vessel arrivals in August 2026, 4 per cent more than a year earlier, alongside total bunker sales of 4.77 million tonnes, 4 per cent lower than the same month of 2025. More ships are calling; less fuel is moving. That is a market where the paperwork around a single call matters more, not less. ^[1]

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What the August numbers say about the market you are buying into

Arrivals rose while tonnage fell. Some 11,631 vessels arrived in August 2026 against 11,655 in July, so the trend is up year on year but not month on month, as Coface's Bernard Aw told Straits Times. Total bunker sales over the first eight months of 2026 were still 2.5 per cent higher year on year, even as the August month fell 4 per cent. Analysts cited in that report said ships may be slow steaming to conserve fuel as oil prices rose after the effective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, with Brent crude still hovering around US$100 per barrel on 22 September 2026. No source here gives a Singapore bunker price, so treat that figure as a crude marker, not a fuel quote. ^[1]

What changed most for anyone specifying fuel is grade mix. Aw said high-sulphur marine fuel oil sales increased while low-sulphur fuel oil sales fell, with low-sulphur volumes declining since the Iran war started. For a yacht that takes one grade, that shift is a reason to fix the grade in writing before the order. A hypothetical comparison: a call booked on the assumption that the tanker will bring whatever the market is supplying, against one booked against the supplier's published fuel grades. On the water the two look identical; afterwards, only one has paperwork that matches what went into the tank. ^[1]

Confirm the supplier is on the licensed list for your grade

MPA states that all bunker suppliers, bunker craft operators, bunker surveyors and bunker surveying companies operating in the port of Singapore are required to be licensed by the port, and that it adopts a zero tolerance approach towards bunkering malpractices. Its list of licensed bunker suppliers is published in a form you can actually check against: for each company it shows the fuel supplied, an address, telephone and fax numbers, and a named person to contact. Entries read either MGO only or MDO/MGO/MFO, which is the first distinction a yacht owner needs. ^{[2] [3]}

Licensing is not the whole picture. MPA's accreditation scheme for bunker suppliers, developed with the Singapore Shipping Association and implemented on 1 June 2003, runs on three key performance indicators over a 12-month assessment period: Craft Operations Records at 15 per cent, Bunker Supply Records at 70 per cent, and Customer Feedback Records at 15 per cent. Bunker Supply Records turn on compliance with SS 600 and SS 648, and a supplier must maintain a minimum total weighted score of 75 during the licensing period to be accredited or remain in the scheme. Annual renewal of the licence is subject to meeting these qualifications. ^[4]

Fix the quantity basis before the hose goes across

This is the part that decides whether cost and paperwork match reality. MPA states that, with effect from 1 January 2017, it is mandatory to use an MPA-approved mass flow meter system for all marine fuel oil bunker delivery in the port, and that the delivered quantity of MFO stated in the bunker delivery note must be based on the bunker tanker's MFM system as witnessed by the cargo officer, the chief engineer and the bunker surveyor if engaged. Three parties are named, with the surveyor only if engaged. Agree before arrival who represents the yacht and who actually signs. ^[5]

Two conditions are worth knowing in advance. First, Port Marine Circular 12 of 2024 mandates SS 648:2024 for the custody transfer of bunker deliveries to ocean-going ships in the port from 1 April 2025, with use of SS 648:2019 ceasing from that date. Its wording covers ocean-going ships, and MPA's mass flow meter rule is published for marine fuel oil, so neither text is written in terms of a small craft. Second, if the metering system fails and delivery by MFM cannot continue, MPA says permission from the implementing authority must be sought before tank gauging under SS 600:2022 proceeds, and a separate bunker delivery note is issued at the end of the delivery. ^{[6] [7]}

If fuel is coming off rather than on, de-bunkering in port needs the express permission of the Port Master, with a completed application submitted at least three working days before the intended date of the operation. ^[4]

The one record to keep, and who can hold it

There is already a feedback form the regulator asks for on your behalf. MPA's licence guidelines state that bunker suppliers shall obtain the satisfaction level of the master or chief engineer of the vessel receiving bunkers on a scale of 1 to 5, where 5 denotes 'Very Satisfied' and 1 'Very Dissatisfied'; the guidelines say suppliers should then key that customer feedback into the MPA system when declaring their bunker operations through DigitalPORT@SG. The standard feedback questionnaire is to be incorporated in the bunker delivery note or stamped at the back of it, with feedback obtained for every bunkering operation. Complete it before the tanker leaves, then keep the signed note with the questionnaire attached. ^[4]

A note on affiliation: BUTLER Magazine sits within the BUTLER group, whose site describes the business as a Singapore-based bespoke hospitality, asset management, property management and lifestyle company. BUTLER's own pages describe BUTLER Marine's yacht management as covering regular maintenance and maritime regulations so the yacht is ready to sail, and maintenance work including meticulous cleaning and technical inspections; the group directs current yacht maintenance and marine services enquiries to BUTLER Marine, while a separate SUPERBOAT Service division is still described as coming soon. Those pages do not document bunker-supplier coordination, fuel-record handling or arrival-to-departure scheduling, so ask any management team directly who checks the licensed list and where the signed note is filed. ^{[8] [9] [10] [11]}

Who holds the file on the day

A workable suggestion, offered as one: name a single person responsible for the call and tell them, before the hose is connected, that the supplier's name and grade must appear on MPA's current licensed list, that the quantity basis and the witnessing parties are settled, and that the completed delivery note goes into one file. In a hypothetical handover, that person is a chief engineer on a yacht run by an owner who is not aboard; the value of the arrangement is that the checks happen while there is still time to ask questions, not in the marina the next morning.

Then re-check at the time of your call. MPA's licensing, standards and licensed-supplier pages do not show a publication date, while Port Marine Circular 12 of 2024 carries its own date of 1 November 2024 on the page itself; market conditions, fuel grades and standard versions still shift. The dated market picture here rests on one Straits Times report of September 2026. Confirm the current list, the standard versions and the reported figures before you rely on them, and treat nothing above as legal, safety or pricing advice. ^[1]

Disclosure: BUTLER Magazine is part of the BUTLER group. This article covers a BUTLER business or service.

Sources

BUTLER Magazine Editorial · AI-assisted research and writing, reviewed by our automated editorial team. Sources checked 2026-10-11. Featured image: AI-generated editorial illustration.