Nine members of a criminal syndicate have been convicted in 2020 and 2021 for tampering with the Mass Flow Meter (MFM) equipment on board bunker tankers.
According to a joint statement from Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC), Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) and Singapore Police Force (SPF), buyers were cheated of USD 336,930.63 worth of MFO in total.
The outcomes of the cases, jointly investigated by MPA and SPF, are against three masterminds and six cargo officers.
To uphold the integrity of the bunker process in the Port of Singapore, MPA has mandated the use of MFMs for the delivery of MFO as it provides assurance to both buyers and suppliers on the delivered quantity of MFO, and enhances transparency in the bunkering process
said the organizations stated.
They also added that the authorities take a serious view of such criminal activities and will not hesitate to take firm action against those who commit offences that undermine Singapore’s international reputation as a trusted shipping and bunkering hub.
The criminal syndicate’s tampering with MFMs on bunker tankers Southernpec 6 and Southernpec 7 was conceptualised by the masterminds, and conducted by the cargo officers on board.
The syndicate’s illegal operations were discovered during an enforcement check by MPA in April 2019.
MPA revoked the bunker craft operator and bunker supplier licence of Southernpec (Singapore) Pte Ltd with effect from 8 May 2019 and 29 May 2019 respectively.
