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The Maritme and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) says it has temporarily suspended the harbour craft licences of five bunker supply vessels operated by marine fuel supplier Panoil Petroleum Pte Ltd.

During one of its regular spot checks on bunker tankers, the MPA "found irregularities with the piping fixtures of five bunker tankers," a spokesperson for the port authority said.

"All five bunker tankers were operated by Panoil Petroleum. Investigations are currently being carried out and the harbour craft licences of these bunker tankers have been temporarily suspended."

During the suspension period, the five vessels will not be permitted to carry out any bunker deliveries, ship-to-ship operations or leave the port of Singapore.

The MPA added that it will continue to monitor bunker tankers at the port of Singapore to ensure compliance with requirements set out in the Technical Reference for Bunker Mass Flow Metering (TR48).

"MPA will not hesitate to take action against any bunkering malpractices in the port of Singapore. Any licensee found to have contravened any terms and conditions of the licence will have their licence either suspended or cancelled," the spokesperson warned.

In the MPA's list of suppliers by volume in 2016, Panoil was ranked 10th in a list of 58 suppliers in Singapore - the same position as the previous year.

According to Panoil's website, it operates a fleet of 11 vessels: Jubilee, Royalty, Unika, Jazeel, Supernova, Oprah, Ophelia, Quinta, Megalodon, Estrella and Colossus.

Of the 11 vessels listed, two were approved for mass flow meter (MFM) bunkering by the MPA in 2015 and eight in 2016. The 800-dwt Megalodon is the only vessel not to have been approved for MFM deliveries.

The names of the five vessels suspended by the MPA are yet to be confirmed.

The world's first national technical reference (TR) for bunker mass flow metering - the Singapore Mass Flow Meter Technical Reference, or TR 48:2015 - was developed by a technical committee and launched in February 2016; it was implemented in June 2016 and specified the mandatory use of MFMs for marine fuel oil (MFO) deliveries from 1st January 2017.

The regulation means that, since 1st January 2017, only barges with an MFM system approved by the MPA have been allowed to supply MFO in Singapore.