Singapore's Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) has suspended the bunker craft operator licence of Inter-Pacific Petroleum, the MPA said in a statement on Thursday.

The MPA suspended the licence, which allows Inter-Pacific to operate tankers used to load marine fuel - known as bunker fuel - onto ships with effect from June 27 until further notice, the statement said.

The licence suspension occurred after "an enforcement check on a bunker tanker operated by Inter-Pacific Petroleum", the MPA said, without providing further details. The MPA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Inter-Pacific could not be reached for comment as the company's listed phone number is no longer in use and an e-mail sent to a company official was returned as no longer valid.

The suspension is the latest crackdown by the MPA, which oversees the world's largest bunkering and marine fuel trading hub.

Last month, the MPA stripped marine fuel services provider Southernpec (Singapore) of both its bunker barge operator and bunker fuel supplier licences after investigations revealed a breach of the terms of its licences, and malpractice.

Inter-Pacific also holds a bunker fuel supplier licence in Singapore. Last year, the company was the 26th largest supplier by volumes delivered out of 51 other operators, according to the MPA.

REUTERS