The Maritime And Port Authority (MPA) of Singapore has stripped marine fuel services provider Inter-Pacific Petroleum (IPP) of its bunker craft operator licence in the port of Singapore, effective immediately, reports The Strait Times.
Interference in bunker measurements
The agency noted, “MPA’s checks and subsequent investigations revealed magnetic interferences affecting measurements of bunkers supplied in numerous Mass Flow Meter readings across Inter-Pacific’s fleet of bunker tankers.”
The MPA added that IPP had also failed to ensure that its employees complied with the terms and conditions of its licence.
Flow crunch after licence cancellation
On June 27, the port authority had suspended IPP’s licence to operate bunker barges in the world’s largest bunkering hub pending further investigations.
In late August, Inter-Pacific Group Pte (IPG), the parent company of IPP, in an application to Singapore courts filed for a court-led debt restructuring process, citing “a significant cash-flow crunch” following the suspension of IPP’s licence.
World’s largest bunkering hub
IPP’s outstanding liabilities had totalled more than US$168.5 million (S$230.6 million), according to court documents reviewed by Reuters.
As of Sept 25, IPP still holds a bunker fuel supplier licence in Singapore, according to the MPA’s website.
Singapore is the world’s largest bunkering hub and in 2018, the company was ranked the 26th-largest supplier by delivered volumes out of 51 other operators, according to the MPA.
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Source: The Strait Times
