The International Bunkering Industry Association is advocating bunker licensing systems across a number of bunkering hubs, with hopes for schedules to implement them to be in place next year.

Work is further ahead at the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp hub, where IBIA is one of the parties being consulted.

“The first phase of the licensing system [at ARA] should be rolled out during 2020 but it is likely that the coronavirus pandemic has delayed it,” Henrik Zederkof, chairman of IBIA and senior director of Bunker Holding A/S, said June 2. The work there to set up a licensing system has been in progress for a couple of years, he said.

The timeline for wider uptake of a licensing system is unclear.

“Challenges presented by the coronavirus pandemic have taken precedence across the world, but we hope that by the end of 2020 we will at least have been able to start the dialog and get the ball rolling. Depending on our success in persuading authorities of the merits in having a bunker licensing system, we hope to see schedules for implementing them during 2021,” he said.

Singapore, the world’s largest bunkering hub with 12.72 million of marine fuel sales in Q1, has 45 bunker suppliers licensed, the first hub to introduce the requirement. Advocates of the system say it provides a more consistent standard of service.

“Their ambition [at ARA] is to make mass flow meters mandatory at a later date, in line with what we have seen in Singapore,” Zederkof said.

“We see many benefits from [a bunker licensing system], chiefly enhancing trust in an area’s bunkering services by penalizing and hence discouraging malpractice,” he added.

At Singapore the licensing system means each bunker supplier must fulfil certain stipulations, such as meet capital and infrastructure requirements and commit to bunker sales projections.