Global bunker supplier TFG Marine has expressed support for the mandatory use of mass flow meters (MFMs) in Ports of Antwerp-Bruges and Rotterdam from 2026, calling it a "step in the right direction", according to ENGINE.
Earlier this month, the port authorities of Antwerp-Bruges and Rotterdam announced that it will be mandatory for bunker vessels to use a certified MFM system that measures the exact amount of fuel they deliver to seagoing vessels from 1 January 2026.
This decision "should bring operations and processes there closer to the well tried, tested and successful model employed by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA)," TFG Marine says.
A mass flow meter is an instrument that measures the mass flow rate of a fluid passing through a tube.
TFG Marine has been advocating for the use of this technology in bunker operations since 2020 and has introduced MFMs across a number of its global fleet since then, it claims.
In August, the International Bunker Industry Association (IBIA) said that the use of MFMs is one of the ways to mitigate supplier-buyer disputes in the global bunker market. It said the use of MFMs will help to increase transparency between suppliers and buyers and reduce quantity-related disputes in fuel deliveries.