Bunker suppliers and inspectors will need a licence to operate in Rotterdam from next February as more ports tighten their marine fuel regulations to ensure the quality of supply.
Shipowners’ groups have been calling for a global mandatory bunker licensing scheme since last year, but the International Maritime Organization prefers each port to take its own voluntary action.
Starting from February next year, suppliers and inspectors will need to apply for a two-year licence for bunkering operations in Europe’s largest refuelling hub, according to a web document from the Port of Rotterdam.
Port responsibility
The port authority will be responsible for investigating any issues or claims that arise during the bunkering process.
“The intention is that the licensing system will bring the required transparency to the market and compliance with all environmental and international regulations covering the bunkering operations,” said Bureau Veritas, which participated in drafting the licensing programme.
The document suggests suppliers of fuel oil, distillates and biofuel will be covered by the scheme initially, but not LNG bunkering firms.
The use of mass flow meters is not mandatory for next year. Rotterdam will determine whether to make bunkering with the meters compulsory in the first quarter of 2022.
The same scheme will also apply to Dutch ports Vlaardingen, Schiedam, Dordrecht, Papendrecht and Zwijndrecht.
In June, the International Bunker Industry Association (IBIA) chairman Henrik Zederkof suggested ports in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp area were considering a regional licensing scheme.
“IBIA has an ambition to work on uniting the 10 most important bunker areas worldwide under a similar bunker licensing scheme, including mass flow meters,” Zederkof said.
Singapore, the world’s largest bunkering hub, has a well-established bunker licensing scheme for years to regulate suppliers.
The use of mass flow meters for fuel-oil deliveries was made mandatory from 2017 and for distillates from 2019 by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore.
Other major refuelling areas that have adopted a licensing scheme include Turkey and Gibraltar.
