SINGAPORE, the world’s leading bunkering port, has amended its standards to improve fuel quality.

The Maritime & Port Authority of Singapore and SPRING Singapore, the main government agency engaged in enterprise development, unveiled the amendments in the latest edition of the ISO 8217.

The upgrades ?to be effective on bunker deliveries as of 1 January 2013 ?are based on test benchmarks.

The Singapore Code of Practice for Bunkering, or SS 600, and the Singapore Standard for Quality Management for Bunker Supply Chain, or SS 524, will tighten the quality of bunker deliveries.

The port will align the two standards with evolving business needs, the authority said.

All bunker suppliers are required to liaise with their respective certification body ?accredited by the Singapore Accreditation Council for quality management system ?to certify their compliance with SS 524 in the next annual surveillance or re-audit, whichever comes earlier.

Every bunker tanker operating in Singapore is required to have an original copy of the SS 600 and its amendments to serve as reference, the authority added.