Greek fuelling company Probunkers has applied to for an LNG bunkering license for the port of Singapore as it prepares to restart its talks on LNG bunker vessel newbuildings.
Probunkers said it has submitted its request to the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore to become one of the port's new licensees for supplying LNG as a marine fuel.
The MPA is due to awarded the new licenses by February.
Probunkers chief executive Alexander Prokopakis said the move is part of the company’s “quest to become the first independent global LNG bunker supplier”.
He told TradeWinds that Probunkers put its LNG bunker vessel newbuilding plans on ice this year due to the global pandemic upheavals, after signing a letter of intent with with Hyundai Mipo Dockyard in South Korea for its first vessels.
The Athens-based company pencilled in slots for a pair of 7,600-cbm LNGBVs in March for delivery dates in 2022 and 2023.
But the CEO said the company plans to restart final discussions in the New Year with a view to firming up contracts before March.
Probunkers has named seven ports — Houston, Gibraltar or Algeciras, the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp region, Fujairah, Hong Kong, Singapore and Busan in South Korea – where it wants to locate its LNGBVs.
“The LNG fuelled fleet is growing and we see an increasing interest from charterers and shipowners for LNG as a marine fuel,” Prokopakis said. But he added that change is needed.
“It is time for more commercial and transparent practices along the lines of traditional oil bunkering. Long term contracts and commitments is the way of doing business in the past, the industry needs to move forward."
