PetroChina Tops Singapore's List of 2021 Bunker Fuel Suppliers

PetroChina International Singapore Pte Ltd climbed three spots to be the top marine fuel supplier in the world's biggest ship refueling hub in 2021 while the overall number of licensed suppliers fell by four to 41, official data showed on Monday.

Shell Plc's Singapore bunkering unit, Shell Eastern Trading Pte Ltd, fell from the top ranking in 2020 to third, behind Singapore's Equatorial Marine Fuel Management Services Pte Ltd in second place, unchanged from 2020, the Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) of Singapore data showed.

Vitol Bunkers Pte Ltd, previously Sinanju Marine Services Pte Ltd, climbed six spots to rank fourth in 2021 followed by Trafigura's TFG Marine Pte Ltd in fifth, up 11 spots from 2020, the data showed.

Vitol, Trafigura and Mercuria are among the latest entrants to Singapore's licensed bunker supplier space having each entered in early 2020.

Mercuria's Minerva Bunkering Pte Ltd ranked 13th in 2021, up from 22nd in the year before.

The biggest leaps up MPA's rankings in 2021 were Hong Lam Fuels Pte Ltd, up 14 places to 10th, and Sirius Marine Pte Ltd which was up by 12 spots to 29th.

Pegasus Maritime Pte Ltd saw the largest drop in rankings, falling 12 spots to 39th in 2021, followed by Palmstone Tankers & Trading Pte Ltd which dropped 10 places to 30th.

Singapore-based Sentek Marine & Trading Pte Ltd dropped five places to eighth in 2021, behind Equatorial Marine Fuel Management Services Pte Ltd in second place after climbing from fourth in the previous year, the latest data from the Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) of Singapore showed.

In late-2020, Sentek's founder, which in 2018-2020 was among Singapore's top three marine fuel suppliers, was charged for his involvement in a large-scale oil theft from Shell's refinery in the city-state.

Total Marine Fuels Pte Ltd, a unit of France's TotalEnergies, fell further down the rankings in 2021 to 19th place, down six spots from the previous year. Previously, in 2019 and 2018, the company ranked in sixth place.

The overall number of licensed bunker suppliers fell to 41 companies in 2021 from 45 in the year before.

Ocean Bunkering Services Pte Ltd and Hin Leong Marine International Pte Ltd, both units of defunct oil trader Hin Leong, dropped off the MPA's list of 2021 bunker suppliers.

Pacific Bunkering Services Pte Ltd and A Dot Marine Pte Ltd were also dropped from the 2021 list.

Sales of marine fuels, known as bunkers, in Singapore climbed to a four-year high in 2021, led by higher sales in the first half of the year amid firm global demand for sea-borne freight.

The city state accounts for about 20% of global bunkering sales.

(Reporting by Roslan Khasawneh; Editing by Ed Osmond)

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