Bunkering is the supplying of fuel for use by ships – “such fuel is referred to as bunker”, including the logistics of loading and distributing the fuel among available shipboard tanks. A person dealing in trade of bunker fuel is called a bunker trader.
The term bunkering originated in the days of steamships, when coal was stored in bunkers.
Nowadays, the term bunker is generally applied to the petroleum products stored in tanks, and bunkering to the practice and business of refueling ships. Bunkering operations take place at seaports and include the storage and provision of the bunker (ship fuels) to vessels.
Singapore is currently the largest bunkering port in the world, Followed by Fujairah and Rotterdam.
