Assessment of the Competitiveness of Ports as Bunkering Hubs: Empirical Studies on Singapore and Shanghai

Bunkering, that is, supplying ships with fuel, has gained strategic importance in port and shipping businesses. This article formulates a framework and a method for assessing the competitiveness of ports as bunkering hubs and includes empirical studies on the ports of Singapore and Shanghai. Ten attributes for the selection of a bunkering port were identified based on interview with practitioners. Through surveys, ship operators and managers ranked the importance of these attributes. Bunker quality was found to be the most important attribute. The respondents also assessed Singapore and Shanghai ports based on the ten attributes. The performances of both ports were analyzed according to their score on each attribute and the total weighted scores. Singapore was rated a better performer in the assessment. Besides Singapore's naturally strategic location, which attracts large cargo volume, the fundamental reason for its excellent performance is its liberal market structure, which results in attractive pricing and efficient practices. In this study, recommendations are given to port authorities and operators, with special focus on ports of Singapore and Shanghai.