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Shipping Number of the Week: Chinese petroleum product exports drop 51% in May

Chinese oil importers seemingly capitalized on low oil prices, leading to record-high crude oil imports of 47.9m tonnes in May, a 19% month-on-month increase, said BIMCO.

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BIMCO Chinese refined petroleum exportd

BIMCO, on Friday (26 June) published an update on the factors behind the fall in Chinese petroleum product exports given the extraordinary market conditions in Q1 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and possible outcomes that could affect China’s output of refined petroleum products including low sulphur bunker fuel.

Exports of refined petroleum products from China declined by 51% month-on-month in May as the COVID-19 pandemic kept oil demand firmly depressed. Total volumes of refined petroleum products in May amounted to 3.8 million (m) tonnes, a glaring contrast to the 8m tonnes exported in April. Jan-May export volumes are up 10% compared to the same period last year.

The sharpest decline was seen in exports of aviation kerosene, also known as jet fuel, which dropped by 1.4m tonnes from 1.9m tonnes in April to 0.6m tonnes in May, a 72% decline. Exports of gasoline and diesel oil also dropped significantly by 64% and 44% respectively.

The Great Lockdown causing plunge in oil demand

The oil market has endured volatility on an unprecedented scale in 2020, driven by simultaneous supply and demand shocks. The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates that oil demand in May dropped by 17 million barrels per day compared to 2019, which partly explains the drop in Chinese refined petroleum exports during that month.

Oil product tankers worked overtime at a massive premium

Under ordinary circumstances, oil product tankers would feel the pain when Chinese petroleum product exports exhibit such a massive monthly drop. Yet, almost nothing in the oil tanker market in 2020 has followed along the usual market patterns.

The low oil prices had the oil tanker market working overtime, and the pickup in demand for floating storage caused a spike in earnings for crude oil tankers and product tankers.

However, with OPEC+ production cuts in motion since 1 May 2020, and oil prices gradually recovering, the profitability of the oil product tanker market has started to face mounting downward pressure.

Jump in crude oil imports and refinery activity

With a massive oil supply-demand imbalance in April and May, oil prices suffered. Chinese oil importers seemingly capitalized on the low prices which led to record-high crude oil imports of 47.9m tonnes in May, a 19% month-on-month increase. Unsurprisingly, crude oil processing at Chinese refineries followed along the same trajectory and jumped to 57.9 m tonnes in May, the highest level in the first five months of 2020 and second-highest level on record.

The high crude oil processing in May can partly be attributed to the cheap oil in recent months but is also reflective of economic conditions in China which have started to shore up. Whether the high output in May will translate into a proportional increase in refined petroleum products in June remains to be seen in the upcoming export data. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that one of the large Chinese oil majors has sought to limit seaborne exports of oil products in June.


Photo credit: BIMCO
Published: 26 June, 2020

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Winding up

Singapore: Xihe Holdings subsidiaries to be wound up voluntarily, creditors to submit claims

Creditors of Da Zhong Tankers and Xin Ying Shipping are required on or before 17 July 2026 to send in their names and addresses and particulars of their debts or claims to appointed liquidators, says notice.

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Xihe Holdings Pte Ltd subsidiaries Da Zhong Tankers Pte Ltd and Xin Ying Shipping Pte Ltd will voluntarily wind up following resolutions that were passed by written means, according to a Government Gazette notice published on Thursday (18 June).

The resolutions set out below were duly passed:

  • SPECIAL RESOLUTION – WINDING-UP

That the Company be wound up voluntarily pursuant to section 160(1)(b) of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018.

  • ORDINARY RESOLUTION – APPOINTMENT OF LIQUIDATORS

That Paresh Tribhovan Jotangia and Ho May Kee of Grant Thornton Singapore Private Limited, 8 Marina View, #40-04/05 Asia Square Tower 1, Singapore 018960 be and are hereby appointed as joint and several liquidators to conduct the said winding-up and that their remuneration be fixed on the usual scale of their professional charges for the work involved.

  • SPECIAL RESOLUTION – POWERS OF LIQUIDATORS

That the liquidators of the Company be authorised to exercise any of their powers given by section 177, 144 (1) and (2) of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018 and to distribute to members, in specie, any part of the assets of the Company.

In another notice, the liquidator of the company said creditors are required on or before 17 July 2026 to send in their names and addresses with particulars of their solicitors (if any) to liquidator Paresh Tribhovan Jotangia at Grant Thornton Singapore Private Limited, 8 Marina View, #40-04/05 Asia Square Tower 1, Singapore 018960. 

The liquidator may require creditors or their solicitors to “come in and prove their said debts or claims at such time and place as shall be specified in such notice or in default thereof, they will be excluded from the benefit of any distribution made before such debts are proved.”

Related: Singapore: Additional Xihe Holdings subsidiaries to be placed under judicial management

 

Photo credit: steve pb from Pixabay
Published: 19 June, 2026

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Winding up

Singapore: Liquidator of Parakou Shipping issues notice of dividend

Second and final dividend to admitted creditors of Parakou Shipping is payable by 14 July, according to Government Gazette notice.

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A notice of dividend for Parakou Shipping Pte Ltd, which is currently in voluntary liquidation, was published on the Government Gazette on Thursday (18 June). 

The following are the details of the notice:

Name of Company : Parakou Shipping Pte Ltd (In Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation)
Address of Registered Office : c/o KordaMentha, 50 Raffles Place, 25-01 Singapore Land Tower, Singapore 048623
Amount per centum : 0.55 per centum of admitted claims (in accordance with the Order of Court HC/ORC 4175/2024)
First and Final or otherwise : Second and Final Dividend to admitted creditors (in accordance with the Order of Court HC/ORC 4175/2024)
When payable : By 14 July 2026
Where payable : c/o KordaMentha Pte Ltd, 50 Raffles Place, #25-01 Singapore Land Tower, Singapore 048623

Related: Singapore: Notice of intended dividend issued for Parakou Shipping Pte Ltd

 

Photo credit: Benjamin Child
Published: 19 June, 2026

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Alternative Fuels

MOL inks bio-LNG bunker fuel supply deals with Titan and Axpo for car carriers in Europe

Titan, part of Amsterdam-based Molgas, will continue to supply bio-LNG fuel in Northwest Europe, while Axpo will take charge of supply in the Mediterranean region.

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MOL inks bio-LNG bunker fuel supply deals with Titan and Axpo for car carriers in Europe

Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) on Thursday (18 July) said it has signed new supply agreements in Northern Europe and the Mediterranean region to expand the use of bio-LNG marine fuel on MOL-operated LNG-fuelled car carriers.

Titan, part of Amsterdam-based Molgas, will continue to supply bio-LNG fuel in Northwest Europe, while Axpo will take charge of supply in the Mediterranean region.

MOL said the agreement makes it possible for its company to supply bio-LNG fuel for automobile carriers in the Mediterranean region, specifically Port of Malaga and Barcelona in Spain, following the bio-LNG fuel supply agreement in Western Europe, which commenced in March last year.

The bio-LNG fuel to be supplied in this initiative has a lifecycle carbon intensity (carbon dioxide emissions per unit of energy consumption) of -15 g-CO2/MJ or less, from production through consumption. Furthermore, this bio-LNG fuel has obtained International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC-EU). 

“Through this supply agreement, MOL has established a framework that ensures a continuous and stable supply of bio-LNG fuel not only in Northern Europe but also in the Mediterranean,” the company said.

As part of the group’s efforts to adopt alternative fuels and achieve net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, it is utilising LNG-fuelled vessels as a bridge solution to facilitate the transition to carbon-neutral fuels such as bio-LNG and synthetic LNG (e-methane).

In 2025, MOL signed a bio LNG fuel supply agreement in Northwest Europe with Titan, part of the Molgas, and MOL has continued this bio LNG fuel supply agreement with the same company in 2026 as well.

 

Photo credit: Mitsui OSK Lines
Published: 19 June, 2026

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