Singapore Unveils Ammonia Standard, LNG Storage Plans and Digital Bunkering Phase 2 at SIBCON 2026

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) announced a package of measures on the opening day of SIBCON 2026, spanning ammonia, LNG, biomethane, ethanol, fuel quality and digital bunkering. The conference was opened by Murali Pillai, Senior Minister of State at the Ministry of Law and the Ministry of Transport, and is expected to welcome more than 2,000 maritime professionals from over 60 countries.

On ammonia, the MPA and Enterprise Singapore launched Technical Reference TR 148, covering safety, bunkering procedures, custody transfer and personnel competencies. The MPA and the Pilbara Ports Authority will validate it using experience from bunkering trials at their ports under the Singapore-Australia Green and Digital Shipping Corridor. The Singapore Chamber of Maritime Arbitration is also developing a model Singapore Ammonia Bunkering Form, open for public consultation until 14 January 2027.

For LNG, the MPA will invite licence applications to operate floating storage units in Singapore anchorages by the end of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals. That follows the award of eight new LNG bunker supplier licences in July 2026. The MPA, CMA CGM and Singapore LNG Corporation have also signed an MOU to explore liquefied biomethane as a marine fuel, including how existing gas infrastructure could support it. Singapore will carry out its first ethanol bunkering operation later this week at PSA's Pasir Panjang Terminal, involving Maersk, Golden Island and PSA Singapore.

Two quality measures were introduced: Singapore Standard SS 730:2026 for bunker sampling, and Technical Reference TR 155:2026, a standard test method for detecting polymers in residual-based marine fuels.

On digitalisation, electronic bunker delivery notes have been the default documentation in Singapore since April 2025. Phase 2 aims to automate and secure the flow of bunkering data from mass flow meters to stakeholders and the regulator. The MPA will open a grant call for Phase 2 trials in November 2026 and launch Bunker Supplier Management System 2.0 in the second quarter of 2027. Pillai described the next step as moving "beyond digital documentation towards a trusted digital data ecosystem".

The MPA also announced an Early Adopter Scheme for electric harbour craft from 1 January 2027, with grants of up to S$250,000 per vessel, and a joint oil spill exercise on 16 October with Indonesia and Malaysia. For trading houses that supply marine fuel from the port, such as Alkagesta, which operates a commodity trading hub in Singapore, the new standards and digital requirements shape how fuel is sampled, documented and delivered.