Singapore is set to become the world’s first port to fully digitise its bunkering process, eliminating all paper-based bunker delivery notes.
Speaking at the Singapore International Bunkering Conference and Exhibition on October 9, Dr. Amy Khor, Singapore’s Senior Minister of State for Transport, announced that by April 1, 2025, all bunker suppliers in Singapore must provide digital bunkering services and issue electronic bunker delivery notes (e-BDNs).
Khor highlighted the anticipated improvements in efficiency, stating, “This will boost efficiency and transparency during the bunkering process in Singapore and is expected to help the industry save close to 40,000 man-days annually.”
As the world’s largest bunkering port, Singapore sold nearly 52 million tonnes of marine fuel in 2023 and has already piloted digital bunkering with several local fuel suppliers over the past year.
To support the transition to digital bunkering, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) will establish a centralised e-BDN verification facility. This facility will allow e-BDNs to be cross-checked against data submitted to the authority, ensuring accuracy and transparency.
Additionally, Enterprise Singapore, through the Singapore Standards Council (SSC), will introduce a new standard, SS 709, for Digital Bunkering Supply Chain Documentation.
This specification will ensure data consistency, enhance system interoperability, and streamline transactions.
Furthering its commitment to digitalisation, the MPA also announced two AI-based applications, DocuMind and DocuMatch, to expedite the renewal of ship certificates for Singapore-registered vessels. These applications are expected to reduce certificate renewal times from three days to just minutes.
This latest initiative builds on Singapore’s long-standing efforts to enhance bunkering efficiency.
In 2017, Singapore became the first port globally to implement mass flow metering to verify delivered bunker volumes—a move that set new standards for transparency and accuracy in the industry.
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