Business

ENGINE: East of Suez Bunker Fuel Availability Outlook

Lead times for low sulphur bunker stems are shorter in Singapore, Japan and South Korea this week, while supply has tightened slightly in Fujairah, it said.

Published

5 years ago

April 14, 2021

Admin

The following article regarding regional bunker fuel availability outlooks for East of Suez ports with special attention to availability in Singapore has been provided by online marine fuels procurement platform ENGINE for publication on Singapore bunkering publication Manifold Times:

13 April 2021

Lead times for low sulphur bunker stems are shorter in Singapore, Japan and South Korea this week, while supply has tightened slightly in Fujairah.

Singapore’s total fuel oil stocks grew by another 2% last week, reaching a four-month high of 23.62 million bbls, according to data from Enterprise Singapore. The bunkering hub’s residual oil inventories were buoyed amid a 30% decline in fuel oil exports on the week, and an 11% increase in imports.

The stockbuild may have contributed to bringing down lead times for VLSFO, which came down from 11 days last week to nine days now. HSFO380 supply remains particularly tight in the bunkering hub, with lead times stretching to 12-15 days. Lead times for LSMGO stems have dropped by one day, to 5-6 days ahead now.

Availability of prompt product tightened with higher bunker demand in South Korean ports earlier this month. Lead times in ports including Busan and Ulsan were around 4-7 days for VLSFO and LSMGO stems at the beginning of the month, and increased to 6-8 days at the end of last week. HSFO380 was particularly tight with delivery dates subject to availability. But prompt availability has improved this week, with lead times dropping to just 2-3 days for the low sulphur grades, and 4-6 days for HSFO380.

The Chinese ports of Zhoushan and Shanghai also have good fuel availability. Lead times for bunker stems are steady at around three days in the two ports.

Tokyo’s lead times for VLSFO and LSMGO have dropped to around seven days this week, down from 11 days last month. The port’s bunker delivery capacity has improved after maintenance of a supplier’s berth was completed. The maintenance put pressure on the port’s bunker delivery logistics throughout March. HSFO380 stems continue to be tight in the Japanese port, with some suppliers already sold out for April.

Japan did not import any fuel oil for the second consecutive week, while it was the fourth week in a row without any HSFO imports. The country’s low sulphur fuel oil (LSFO) exports dropped by 17% on the week, to their lowest levels since the beginning of the year. Japan’s HSFO exports grew 14% on the week to a multi-month high.

Fujairah’s lead times have increased by one day from last week across fuel grades. VLSFO and LSMGO stems now require up to seven days ahead, and HSFO380 stems nine days ahead.

Fuel availability has improved in Port Suez, after supplies dwindled during the Suez Canal blockage last month. Egyptian refineries prioritised bunkering of tugboats and other rescue vessels over resupplying local bunker suppliers in Port Suez during the refloating of the stranded ultra-large container ship Ever Given. The week-long freeing mission therefore delayed resupply, leaving local bunker suppliers with only limited volumes of HSFO380 left to sell. Bunker suppliers in Port Suez have now replenished their stocks of VLSFO and LSMGO, although LSMGO remains tight in the Egyptian port.

Photo credit and source: ENGINE
Published: 14 April, 2021

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.

Published

7 hours ago

July 21, 2026

Admin

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.

Photo credit: Sora Shimazaki
Published: 21 July, 2026

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.

Published

7 hours ago

July 21, 2026

Admin

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.

Photo credit: Drew Beamer
Published: 21 July, 2026

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.

Published

7 hours ago

July 21, 2026

Admin

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