Digitalising maritime: How Leon Ling is building the ‘Singpass’ of the sea

You could call Mr Leon Ling a serial entrepreneur. For more than two decades, he has been involved in businesses across different continents, including countries like China, Singapore and the United States.

In 2020, he ventured into the maritime industry with his friend Vance Loh . Together, they founded the maritime technology start-up Bunkerchain , which focuses on digital asset management.

On April 16 this year, Bunkerchain signed an agreement with the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore and financial information provider S&P Global Market Intelligence to trial its novel Marine Vessel Pass (MVP) with ships in Singapore waters, focusing on Digital Bunker and Ship Shore Data Exchange use cases.

The platform equips ships and its crew with tools to communicate securely with ports and maritime digital services, such as encrypted messaging, digital scan-and-sign maritime documents, and e-payments. It enables the use of digital ship identities instead of paper documentation, much like how Singapore residents use their Singpass credentials to transact with government agencies here.

As part of an interview series with movers and shakers of the maritime industry, Mr Ling, shares his Bunkerchain journey and insights into the sector’s digitalisation journey.

How did you become an entrepreneur? 

I worked for my dad and helped him with his business. He started from selling bolts and screws to the Army, and became a global producer of medical equipment and supplies.

In the beginning, he did everything in the company. He was the accountant, delivery man, salesman… He built the business from scratch. Watching him do this got me hooked on the idea of creating businesses.

I enjoy analysing companies to see what works and what doesn’t. Often, business fail due to specific issues, and if you can identify and address those correctly, success will follow.

What are your favourite hobbies and how have they influenced your work?

Gaming, travelling, and team sports make the top three, although the order has changed at different stages of my life.

When it comes to gaming, I particularly enjoy strategy games like Warhammer and Warcraft and a personal favourite from years ago is Uncharted Waters, where a merchant builds his fleet, explores and trades across new worlds. Strategy games like these taught me how to organise time and resources, and this has translated into how I manage my businesses today.

Why did you start a maritime business?

I have always loved the ocean - I'm into fishing and diving.

Singapore's strategic location has made it a key hub for global trade, even 100 years ago. So for me, the natural progression was to enhance the digital infrastructure for ships.

With my experience in the Internet of Things (IoT) and Blockchain, my co-founder Vance and I came together and said "Hey, let's build something." We started with Digital Bunkering, which evolved into the Marine Vessel Pass.

What does Bunkerchain do?

We are identity solution providers for the maritime industry and collaborate with S&P Global to link various micro-services of the maritime industry to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) database. We hope that one day, ships will be able to log in, scan a QR code, sign and authenticate themselves digitally for maritime transactions.

With our Singpass-like app for ships, we aim to replace wet-inked stamps and signatures. It will extract information from the S&P Global database and allow for digital authentication using the IMO number.

Do you think the maritime industry has been slow in embracing digitalisation?

Yes, the maritime industry tends to approach change cautiously. Those involved are often calm decision-makers who take time to evaluate their options thoroughly.

The pandemic made the need for digitalisation clearer, but the reaction has been slow. Many in the industry preferred to wait until after COVID-19 to address these changes. This is just the nature of maritime - it takes time.

What can be done to accelerate digitalisation in the industry?

A multi-faceted approach is required to encourage more companies to embrace digitalisation.

Industry stakeholders should prioritise collaboration and knowledge sharing. By establishing industry consortiums or forums dedicated to digitalisation, companies can share best practices, address common challenges, and co-create solutions and data standards together.

Promoting harmonised data standards and interoperability is also crucial to ensure seamless integration and data exchanges across the maritime ecosystem. By developing industry-wide standards and encouraging the adoption of open-source and interoperable solutions, companies can unlock the full potential of digitalisation.

What advice would you give to the younger generation?

Don’t rush life. Take time to find yourself and don’t be afraid to fail. If you fall, get up, dust off and start again. 

Also, find the right mentor – someone who can guide you. For me, my dad played a significant role. His best advice to me was that books are written by people based on their experiences, but they are still history. To build something for the future, you must be able to understand its history but not be bound by it.

People may have done things a certain way for a long time. If you understand why they did it that way in the past, you can look at the tools you have today and know what can be done tomorrow.

From 1 April 2025, bunker suppliers will be required to provide digital bunkering services and issue electronic bunker delivery notes (e-BDNs) as a default. This was announced during the 23rd Singapore International Bunkering Conference (SIBCON) in October 2024 following successful trials conducted since launch, with majority of the bunker suppliers, including the top 10 bunker players, in Singapore.

For more information about digital bunkering, visit: https://www.mpa.gov.sg/digital-bunkering