Northport (Malaysia) Bhd (Northport), a member of MMC Group welcomed the arrival of the first shipment of IMO 2020-compliant Low Sulphur Fuel Oil (LSFO) at its Southpoint terminal, thus becoming the first facility in Port Klang to supply the IMO 2020- compliant marine fuel.
The Chief Executive Officer of Northport, Dato’ Azman Shah Mohd Yusof and the Assistant General Manager, Operations and Regulatory of Port Klang Authority (“PKA”), Capt. Kamal Ariffin Idris were present to witness the discharging of LSFO from a bunker vessel, MT Straits Energy into dedicated storage tanks in Southpoint.
1 January 2020 was the deadline set by the International Maritime Organization (“IMO”) for vessels to comply with low sulphur fuel oil requirement.
The decision was made during IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee meeting held in London in 2016. The implementation, which requires all vessels to use fuel with only 0.5% sulphur content against 3.5% prior to the deadline, demonstrates a clear commitment by IMO towards ensuring that the shipping industry meets its environmental obligations through a significant reduction in sulphur content of the fuel oil used by vessels.
“It is our obligation to protect the environment for our future generation. As one of the major ports in Malaysia, Northport has been playing our role through various environmentally-friendly programs and this LSFO bunkering service operations at Northport is one of the initiatives adopted by us.
“We hope that this value-added service will further enhance the number of vessel calling Northport and Port Klang”, said Dato’ Azman.
Northport has provided a facility at its Southpoint terminal operated by licensed bunker operator, Ombak Suria Sdn Bhd (“Ombak Suria”) to ensure that LSFO is made available to be supplied to vessels in Port Klang.
In the next few weeks, Ombak Suria and other relevant authorities will be performing due diligence to ensure the safety, product quality and best practices in bunker operations before commencing any bunkering activities and supplies to the shipping lines.
“It is only fitting that Southpoint, being the oldest terminal in Port Klang, became the first facility to offer LSFO, chalking yet another milestone in its 119-year history”, added Dato’ Azman.
“Port Klang which is currently ranked 12th in the world shipping ports is preparing ourselves to become Malaysia’s bunkering hub. Our strategic location at the busiest shipping lane in the world gives us competitive advantage to fulfill the Ministry of Transport’s aspiration.
The arrival of IMO 2020-compliant LSFO at Northport brings us one step closer to achieving this goal”, said the General Manager of PKA, Capt. K. Subramaniam.
In August last year, PKA had hosted a conference to help the shipping industry make informed decisions ahead of the implementation of IMO 2020. The conference, supported by the Ministry of Transport Malaysia, was aimed at raising the awareness and facilitate compliance to the implementation of the IMO requirements.
