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German shipping firm Hapag-Lloyd burned 28% more low-sulphur bunker fuel in 2019

Transition to the IMO 2020 sulphur cap described as ‘smooth’; a negative effect on its shipping volume and cash flow is expected in May following the COVID-19 outbreak.

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Erik Hoffmann of global energy and commodity price reporting agency Argus Media on Friday (20 March) published an analysis on German shipping company Hapag Lloyd’s fuel consumption in relation to IMO 2020 as well as its strategies in preparation for the aftermath of COVID-19: 

German containership company Hapag-Lloyd burned 28% more low-sulphur fuel in 2019 than in the year, as most of its fleet switched to low-sulphur fuels in the last weeks of the year.

Hapag-Lloyd mostly bought high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) last year, but the share of low-sulphur fuel consumed rose from 13% in 2018 to 16% last year. It consumed 3.66mn t of HSFO in 2019, along with a combined 720,000t of 0.5% sulphur fuel oil and 0.1% marine gasoil (MGO).

The company described the transition to comply with the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) 0.5% sulphur cap as “smooth”, but noted bunker price volatility in the months before and after the sulphur cap entered into effect on 1 January.

The firm paid an average of $416/t for its fuel last year, a drop of $5/t from 2018. It consumed a total of 4.38mn t of bunker fuel, down by 1% from 4.40mn t in 2018.

Its fleet became 3% more fuel efficient last year, burning 0.36t/twenty foot equivalent unit (TEU), and has become 41% more fuel efficient since 2009.

The company took up a $100mn loan in September 2019 to finance exhaust scrubber installations on 10 of its owned and on nine of its chartered vessels. Scrubbers, which allow vessels to continue burning HSFO after 1 January 2020, typically cost between $2mn-5mn each.

The company turned a profit of €373mn last year, up from €46mn in 2018.

Hapag-Lloyd will pass on the higher costs for low-sulphur fuel this year to shippers, with bunker adjustment factors running for three-month periods from December 2019. It has hedged its remaining bunker price risk.

The company had forecast an average low-sulphur premium of $250/t and for the sulphur cap to add $1bn to its bunker bill in 2020. But premiums are now below $100/t, after a period of well over $300/t in early January, thanks to a combination of improved supply logistics for low-sulphur fuel at ports, coronavirus pandemic-related lockdowns and crude price moves arising from the breakdown of the Opec+ deal.

Hapag-Lloyd expects the pandemic to have a negative effect on its shipping volume and cash flow, particularly from May because reduced consumer demand will show up in container volumes with a lag.

The firm has not placed many orders for newbuilds, and the proportion of its fleet that is idle has increased significantly. Hapag-Lloyd added 12 vessels to its fleet in 2019 and had a total of 239 by the end of 2019.


Photo credit and source:
Argus Media
Published: 23 March, 2020

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Legal

Singapore withdraws remaining 127 charges against Hin Leong founder OK Lim

Lim Oon Kuin, also known as OK Lim, was issued a stern warning and a district court granted him a discharge amounting to an acquittal for these charges on 17 July.

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RESIZED Sora Shimazaki on Pexels

Founder of collapsed oil trader Hin Leong Trading, Lim Oon Kuin, also known as OK Lim, has had the remaining 127 charges against him withdrawn, according to The Straits Times on Monday (20 July). 

OK Lim was issued a stern warning and a district court granted him a discharge amounting to an acquittal for these charges, including those for cheating, on 17 July. The discharge means Lim cannot be prosecuted again for the same offences.

Lim, 84, is currently serving a 13½-year prison sentence after the High Court reduced his original 17½-year jail term in March 2026. He was convicted in 2024 on two cheating charges and one count of abetting forgery in a case prosecutors described as one of Singapore’s most serious trade finance frauds.

Lim was convicted in May 2024 of two charges of cheating the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) and one count of abetting forgery that proceeded to trial out of a total of 130 criminal charges.

He was first charged in court on 14 August 2020, and was subsequently handed further charges in court on 25 September 2020, 30 April 2021 and 24 June 2021 for his role in perpetuating fraud on various financial institutions. 

A total of 130 charges were eventually brought against him for cheating and forgery-related offences.

Related: Singapore: Hin Leong Founder OK Lim gets jail term slashed to 13.5 years

 

Photo credit: Sora Shimazaki
Published: 21 July, 2026

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Winding up

Singapore: Coastal Logistics Pte Ltd to be wound up voluntarily

Coastal Logistics was reportedly affiliated with troubled Singapore bunker player Coastal Oil (Singapore) Pte Ltd.

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RESIZED Drew Beamer

Several resolutions for Coastal Logistics Pte Ltd were made during an extraordinary general meeting held on 14 July, according to a notice in the Government Gazette on Friday (4 July).

The following resolutions were duly passed during the meeting:

As Special Resolution

  • That it has been proved to the satisfaction of the meeting that the Company cannot by reason of its liabilities continue its business and accordingly the Company be wound up voluntarily pursuant to Section 160(1)(b) of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018 (No. 40 of 2018);

As Ordinary Resolutions

  • that Mr. Wong Pheng Cheong Martin and Ms. Koay May Yee, both care of FTI Consulting (Singapore) Pte Ltd, One Raffles Quay, #27-10 South Tower, Singapore 048583 be appointed as the joint and several Liquidators of the Company for the purpose of such winding up; and
  • that the Liquidators be at liberty to open, maintain and operate any bank account(s) or account(s) for monies received by them as Liquidators with such bank(s) as they deem fit; and
  • that a Committee of Inspection will not be formed.

Manifold Times previously reported Nicholas James Gronow, director of Heng Tong Fuels & Shipping and Coastal Logistics, filed statutory declarations for both companies stating the firms cannot continue their businesses due to liabilities.

Both companies were reportedly affiliated with troubled Singapore bunker player Coastal Oil (Singapore) Pte Ltd. 

In 2019, several vessels owned by both firms entered the sale & purchase (S&P) market in Singapore.

Related: Singapore: Director declares Heng Tong Fuels & Shipping’s inability to continue business
Related: Heng Tong Fuels & Shipping in court over DBS Bank bunker tanker loan
Related: Singapore: Bunker tanker “Coastal Neptune” arrested
Related: Heng Tong Fuels & Shipping, Coastal Logistics tankers enter S&P market

 

Photo credit: Drew Beamer
Published: 21 July, 2026

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LNG Bunkering

PIL’s LNG dual-fuel boxship “Kota Elok” arrives in Singapore on maiden call

As the first of 13 new 13,000 TEU vessels joining its fleet, Kota Elok is equipped to operate on LNG and low-sulphur fuel oil that helps reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.

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PIL's LNG dual-fuel boxship “Kota Elok” arrives in Singapore on maiden call

Singapore-based Pacific International Lines Pte Ltd on Monday (20 July) said its first 13,000 TEU LNG dual-fuel container vessel, Kota Elok, recently made her maiden call to Singapore on 15 July.

As the first of 13 new 13,000 TEU vessels joining its fleet, Kota Elok is equipped to operate on liquefied natural gas (LNG) and low-sulphur fuel oil that helps reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. 

The vessel also incorporated energy-saving features and digital technologies to reduce fuel consumption and enhance operational performance, as well as a bow windshield to improve aerodynamics, contributing to improved fuel efficiency and lower emissions over the course of long-haul voyages.

“Following Singapore, Kota Elok will continue her voyage on our East Coast Service 1 (ES1) route to South America, calling at ports in Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina before returning to Asia,” the company said in a social media post. 

Kota Elok also became PIL’s first vessel to receive Lloyd’s Register certification for compliance with the IACS UR E26 and UR E27 cyber security requirements.

Developed by the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS), UR E26 and UR E27 are mandatory cyber resilience requirements for newbuild vessels contracted from 1 July 2024. 

 

Photo credit: Pacific International Lines
Published: 21 July, 2026

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