Maritime bunker sales in Singapore : an overview of the bunkering market in Singapore 2018/2019(focusing on charter parties disputes)

Abstract

Over 90% of world trade are contributed to the form of ships in water transport. Like many other modes of transport, ships in the ocean emit harmful gases into the environment like sulphur oxides, nitrogen oxides and carbon dioxide through burning of fossil fuels that are in the form of fuel oil. In order to further mitigate the danger of our planet, International Maritime Organization (IMO) has decided to implement the reduction of sulphur content limit into the environment from 3.5% to 0.5% by 2020. Another technology that was introduced to improve the maritime industry was the using of mass flow meters that enhanced transparency to reduce malpractices and disputes between shipowners/charterers and fuel oil suppliers. Although reduction of sulphur is a good thing for the environment, there presents many concerns and worries about not meeting the condition of IMO2020 for the many stakeholders of the shipping industry like for example shipowners and refiners as this will affect their cost and profitability with complying, and port authorities to effectively enforce the regulations. Another concern would be charter parties which affects shipowners and charterers as each of them will try to avoid responsibilities to lower their cost to meet the condition of IMO2020 which might end up in disputes. This report aims to find the different kind of disputes and problems that will happen between charterer and shipowners to satisfy the condition of IMO2020 as well as to find out the different aspects that would get affected that would cause disputes to increase or to decrease. The disputes that will happen for charter parties due to IMO2020 between shipowners and charterers is one of the reason that will determine how well business is affected which will affect the world as well as Singapore.