Singapore published its first national ammonia bunkering standard on October 13, 2026, as the Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) and Enterprise Singapore launched Technical Reference TR 148 covering safety, bunkering procedures, custody transfer and personnel competencies for ammonia transfers.

The launch anchored the opening of the 24th Singapore International Bunkering Conference, themed Charting a Resilient Multi-Fuel Future. More than 2,000 maritime professionals from over 60 countries attended. Senior Minister of State Murali Pillai officiated.

For shipowners weighing dual-fuel newbuilds, TR 148 matters. It gives ports and suppliers a common procedural baseline before commercial ammonia bunkering scales, and Singapore is already stress-testing it abroad.

MPA and Australia's Pilbara Ports Authority will validate the standard through the Singapore-Australia Green and Digital Shipping Corridor, sharing operational experience from bunkering trials at both ports. The Singapore Chamber of Maritime Arbitration, meanwhile, opened public consultation on a Singapore Ammonia Bunkering Form — a standard contract giving buyers and suppliers a common legal footing in a market that barely exists yet. Feedback runs until January 14, 2027.

What's happening with LNG and bio-methane?

Singapore is expanding LNG storage before it expands licensing. MPA will invite licence applications for LNG Floating Storage Units in Singapore anchorages by end-2026, adding capacity after the port awarded eight new LNG bunker supplier licences in July.

MPA also signed an MOU with CMA CGM and Singapore LNG Corporation to explore liquefied bio-methane as a marine fuel, using existing gas infrastructure. That cuts both capital cost and time-to-market, since no new terminals are needed.

Where does ethanol fit in?

Singapore will conduct its first ethanol bunkering operation at PSA's Pasir Panjang Terminal later this week, with Maersk, Golden Island and PSA Singapore participating. The trial assesses whether existing methanol bunkering standards can be adapted for ethanol, and validates the use of mass flow meters for ethanol transfers — a signal that Maersk sees methanol-capable infrastructure doubling for ethanol as alternative fuel bets diversify.

What about fuel quality and digitalisation?

Two new fuel-quality standards dropped alongside the fuel launches: SS 730:2026, tightening consistency in bunker sampling practices, and TR 155:2026, a standardised test method for polymers in residual-based marine fuels — a recurring headache in quality disputes.

On the digital side, Phase 2 of the Digital Bunkering initiative targets end-to-end security and automation of bunkering data flows from mass flow meter systems to stakeholders and regulators. A grant call launches in November 2026 for licensed bunker craft operators and technology partners.

MPA will follow with Bunker Supplier Management System 2.0 in Q2 2027, a unified platform for bunkering regulatory transactions and licence applications — replacing fragmented paperwork with a single interface for the roughly 60 licensed suppliers operating in the port.

How is Singapore electrifying harbour craft?

An Early Adopter Scheme for Electric Harbour Craft starts January 1, 2027. It offers a two-year grant of up to SGD 250,000 (about USD 190,000) per vessel, scaled by battery capacity and vessel size, to catalyse early adoption and build a domestic electric harbour craft ecosystem.

Regional coordination is on the agenda too. A multi-agency joint oil spill exercise with Indonesia and Malaysia runs on October 16, aimed at strengthening cross-border spill response.

The package lands as competition among bunker hubs intensifies over who will standardise — and therefore capture — the next-generation fuels market. Singapore is betting that published standards, first-mover trials and money on the table will keep it ahead of Rotterdam, Fujairah and Shanghai.

With the ammonia contract form open for consultation until mid-January and FSU licence applications due by year-end, the next six months will show whether suppliers and traders commit capital to Singapore's multi-fuel framework.