A LOCAL bunker supplier' licence was suspended for two weeks for tampering with the bunker sampling container during a routine operation.

In a statement on Friday, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore said Equatorial Marine Fuel Management Services Pte Ltd's bunker licence will be suspended from August 26 to September 8.

It added that the two-week suspension sends 'a clear signal that malpractices in the bunker industry are not tolerated by the Authority'.

During the bunker operation for a client vessel Dai Long on June 2, a crew member on board the bunker supplier's tanker Sedna tampered with the sampling container.

This is a breach of the Singapore Standard for Bunkering and MPA's bunkering licences, under which bunker suppliers are to ensure that its operators, including crew, do not engage in any acts of malpractice in the supply of bunkers.