Mass flow meters set to become mandatory in Antwerp and Rotterdam

Antwerp-Bruges Port Authority and Port of Rotterdam Authority are working together to introduce mass-flow meters (MFMs) in the ports of Antwerp, Rotterdam and Zeebrugge.

PHOTO: A mass-flow meter installed on a bunker barge. Port of Rotterdam Authority

By the first half of next year, the port authorities plan to shortlist a suitable mass flow meter system that will be installed on bunker barges. However, they have not revealed any tentative dates from when mass-flow deliveries will be mandated.

The port authorities agree that MFMs will have a significant impact on the ARA bunker market and suppliers must be given sufficient time to implement these systems. They estimate that 40 out of 170 bunker barges in Rotterdam, Antwerp and Zeebrugge already have MFM installed.

An independent study conducted by the CE Delft consultancy raised the issue of shortfall in the quantity of bunkers delivered in these ports. The structural quantity issue was also accepted by the majority of respondents surveyed by CE Delft.

This move came after many industry stakeholders urged the port authorities to shadow Singapore in using MFMs.

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) mandated the use of MFMs for fuel oil deliveries in 2017. Two years later, it mandated the use of MFMs for all bunker deliveries including distillates. Since then, Singapore, the world's biggest port by bunker sales volume, is viewed as the world’s most reliable bunker location, TFG Marine said earlier.

By Debarati Bhattacharjee

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