Bunkering is the supplying of fuel for use by ships, and includes the shipboard logistics of loading fuel and distributing it among available bunker tanks. A person dealing in trade of bunker fuel is called a Bunker Trader.
The term originated in the days of steamships, when the fuel, coal, was stored in bunkers. Nowadays the term bunker is generally applied to the storage of petroleum products in tanks, and the practice and business of refueling ships. Bunkering operations are located at seaports, and they include the storage of "bunker" (ship) fuels and the provision of the fuel to vessels.Singapore is currently the largest bunkering port in the world.