(EnergyAsia, March 12, Thursday) --- August Energy reported a sell-out crowd of bunker fuel professionals for its Bunkering Principles, Management & Operations course held in Singapore last February 24 and 25.

More than 50 participants from seven countries attended the NUSS Guild House seminar hall at the Suntec Singapore International Convention & Exhibition Centre. The event was expected to attract about 30 people, and also exceeded the turnout reported for the first event held last September, said managing director Tham Heng Mun.

The participants benefited from in-depth discussions and lectures by a host of experts including Gerald Loh from the Maritime and Port Authority (MPA), Douglas Raitt of Lloyd’s Register and Tan Lay Thok of SPRING Singapore’s technical committee for bunkering. While Mr Loh and Mr Tan addressed regulatory, policy and enforcement issues pertaining to Singapore, Mr Raitt, Lloyd’s global FOBAS manager, spoke on pressing environmental challenges facing the industry.

Adrian Tolson, vice-president of sales and marketing at US-based Chemoil, and Simon Neo, deputy marine director at Equatorial Marine Fuels, presented the experiences and perspectives of independent bunker traders.

Lee Hong Liang, editor of BunkerWorld, spoke on the current issues facing the bunker markets in Asia and the Middle East.

Amid growing concerns with trading and credit risks, George Ng, director of CME Group, and Yeo Ek Meng, vice-president of clearing and commodities business at the Singapore Exchange, presented the services of their organisations in helping traders deal with the threat of credit issues.

Corporate recovery specialist Tim Reid, a partner at Ferrier Hodgson, provided advice on how companies should deal with credit issues and bad debts.

The other speakers included veteran industry consultants Yeo Ek Thoe and Yee Peng Fei who shared their overviews on the bunkering business and the quality management of the bunker supply chain. Naimish Raval, senior business development manager at Emerson Process Management, provided an update on his company’s work on bunker metering.

Delegates participated by debating and asking questions of the lecturers, and exchanging information among themselves.

Some of the course topics included an overview of the forces that drive the bunker fuels markets, issues related to management and trading, Singapore as a major hub in the global bunker supply chain, the role and issues related to the Singapore Standard 600 (combining the CP 60 and CP 77), trade financing and outlook for bunker projects in the region.

Credit, financial and liquidity challenges facing today’s bunker markets were also discussed, focusing on risks and how traders should navigate the current credit threats and liquidity squeeze.

Also included was a technical and practical overview of the workings of bunker operations and management, in particular the state of bunkering practices in Singapore, the importance and role of surveyors and inspectors, and survey requirements on bunker contamination, dispute handling, and new MARPOL rules and requirements. The speakers also addressed auditing practices and policy in Singapore and the international market as well as what bunker auditing hopes to achieve and how it is conducted.

Due to the strong response from the industry, August Energy is planning to hold a series of bunker training courses through 2009. The next event is being planned for May, featuring updates on key issues facing the industry, case studies and financial issues, said Mr Tham.

He said: “Our aim is to provide the industry a forum and a platform to regularly address issues facing the bunker markets. We will use each event to address a different set of issues. Professionals involved in the bunker industry may send me their feedback and comments for incorporation into the next event in May.”