Singapore LNG Bunkering Licences 2026

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) is issuing eight new licences from 1 September 2026 to supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a marine fuel in the Port of Singapore. MPA says the three existing LNG licences will expire by the end of 2026. The change is a supplier-licensing and bunkering-capacity measure within Singapore's multi-fuel port strategy, not a mandate that every vessel use LNG or a grant paid to fuel suppliers (MPA, 30 July 2026; page last updated 9 September 2026).

Licence transition and capacity

The 2026 arrangement changes the number and timing of licensed LNG suppliers: eight new licences are issued from 1 September, while three existing licences expire by 31 December. The announcement does not say that the eight licences are eight new suppliers in addition to the three continuing indefinitely; the published transition language instead describes new licences alongside the expiry of the existing three. It also does not publish the successful licensees, individual licence conditions, supply volumes or a guaranteed bunkering price (MPA, 30 July 2026).

MPA describes the purpose as expanding Singapore's LNG bunkering capacity and strengthening its ability to supply lower-carbon fuels. The stated examples include liquefied bio-methane and e-methane, which are fuels that can be supplied through the port's developing multi-fuel ecosystem. The licence announcement therefore concerns the authorised supply side; it is not evidence that all those fuels are already available at every berth or that LNG is zero-emission (MPA, 30 July 2026).

Standards and the multi-fuel system

The licence change sits alongside, rather than replaces, technical and operational controls for marine fuels. MPA said the Standards for Port Limit LNG Bunker Vessels would cover the equipment, operational performance and efficiency of vessels operating in Singapore. MPA and Enterprise Singapore, through the Singapore Standards Council, were also upgrading the Technical Reference for LNG Bunkering (TR56) to a Singapore Standard and preparing a technical reference for ammonia bunkering. These standards and references address safe, transparent and quality-assured operations; an LNG supply licence does not by itself certify a seafarer, approve a vessel’s fuel system or make every alternative fuel available at every berth (MPA, 13 January 2026; MPA, 30 July 2026).

Place in Singapore's marine-fuel system

Singapore is a major marine-fuelling hub, and MPA's wider 2026 work includes developing LNG bunkering standards, preparing ammonia-bunkering guidance, promoting green and digital shipping corridors and using electronic bunker delivery notes. In 2025, marine-fuel sales reached 56.77 million tonnes, including 1.95 million tonnes of alternative marine fuels, but those system-wide figures are not the number of LNG-licensed suppliers and should not be substituted for the 2026 licensing measure (MPA, 13 January 2026).

The licensing measure should also be kept distinct from the Maritime Energy Training Facility, which develops workforce competencies for handling alternative marine fuels. A bunkering licence concerns permission to supply fuel in the port; it does not itself certify seafarers, approve a vessel's fuel system or establish the safety curriculum for maritime workers (MPA, 30 July 2026; maritime energy training facility).