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Xihe replaces Directors, forms new management team to chart fresh course for Group

Xihe said it has recently hired a qualified management team to drive the business; Lim Oon Kuin and his children are no longer part of the management team.
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Ocean QUEEN

Singapore-based tanker shipowner the Xihe Group of Companies (Xihe) on Thursday (30 July) said a new management team has been put in place to chart a fresh course for the group.

This comes following Xihe’s previous announcement that its creditors have adjourned court proceedings in favour of working together with the group towards a consensual restructuring.

Xihe said it has recently hired a highly qualified management team with close to 100 years of collective shore and sea-based experience to drive its corporate finance, marketing, chartering, sale of vessels and fleet management. 

The key personnel on the new management team include: 

  • Interim CEO Kenny Lim
  • Commercial Director Desmond Chong
  • Sales & Purchase Director Michael Tan
  • Vice President (Fleet Management) Capt. Zhang Yujie

The group clarified that Lim Oon Kuin and his children are no longer part of the management team and a new board of directors – consisting of a majority of non-executive independent directors – is also being finalised as part of the consensual restructuring with Xihe’s Lenders.

The new team has made significant strides in managing Xihe’s businesses in a short span of two months, despite disruptions brought about by Ocean Tankers Pte Ltd (OTPL) – its main bareboat charterer – being placed under interim judicial management (IJM) in May 2020, it said.

With the assistance and guidance of its legal and financial advisors, Xihe added that its team is taking steps towards achieving consensual restructuring and revamping of the Xihe Group of companies. 

The first of these steps is to terminate all bareboat charter contracts which Xihe had entered into with OTPL and Hin Leong Trading Pte Ltd (HLT) and actively working with the interim judicial managers of OPTL and HLT to seek redelivery of those vessels. 

There is a market for chartering out these vessels and Xihe is actively pursuing opportunities to re-deploy them, noted Xihe.

Secondly, Xihe adds it is seeking to conduct an orderly divestment and rightsizing of its fleet to achieve optimum returns to all stakeholders. 

It has concluded the sale of several of its vessels and is in discussions with a number of potential buyers on a programme of sales, it said.

Thirdly, as part of Xihe’s revamped business model, the group added that it has identified strategic partners to form alliances with. It has engaged, and will be engaging professional, internationally renowned technical and commercial managers to manage and market its vessels for charter, to ensure that the highest standards of safety, quality and efficiency are attained. 

“Just this week, Xihe successfully took redelivery of its 108,953 DWT oil tanker Ocean Queen (IMO 9368223) from HLT (bareboat charterer) and OTPL (ship manager),” said Xihe Holdings in an official release.

“The vessel is now under the technical management of a newly appointed world-class ship manager.

“Xihe is confident of getting its business back on track and with full commitment to bring about the best outcome for all its stakeholders, partners and clients.”

Related: Xihe creditors adjourn court proceedings in favour of consensual restructuring
Related: OCBC files for Xihe Holdings to be placed under judicial management


Photo credit: Xihe Group
Published: 3 August, 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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July 21, 2026

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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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12 hours ago

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July 21, 2026

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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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July 21, 2026

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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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