Business

ENGINE: Europe & Africa Bunker Fuel Availability Outlook

Bunker fuel oils are tight for prompt dates with several suppliers in Rotterdam, while ships face bunkering delays from weather suspensions in Malta and Algoa Bay.

Published

5 years ago

October 28, 2021

Admin

The following article regarding Europe and Africa bunker fuel availability has been provided by online marine fuel procurement platform ENGINE for publication on Singapore bunkering publication Manifold Times:

27 October, 2021

Bunker fuel oils are tight for prompt dates with several suppliers in Rotterdam, while ships face bunkering delays from weather suspensions in Malta and Algoa Bay.

Longer lead times should be considered for HSFO380 stems in Rotterdam after supply tightened last week. Prompt product is more difficult to source, especially for larger quantities.

Backwardation in Rotterdam’s forward curves for HSFO380 and VLSFO could have made it less lucrative to store product over time. ARA’s independent fuel oil inventories fell to three-month lows of 6.52 million bbls last week, according to Insights Global estimates. There was far less fuel oil stored in the bunkering hub than on average over the past five years.

Supply constraints at the VLSFO-producing Sines refinery in Portugal may also have reduced available volumes in the region.

There were slight bunker delays in the Gibraltar Strait on Wednesday, port agent MH Bland says. Two suppliers in Gibraltar were running 1-3 hours behind schedule. Delays had mounted in Algeciras, with two suppliers 2-8 hours behind, and one supplier around half a day behind.

Bunkering was suspended across all of Malta’s offshore bunkering areas on Wednesday. Operations were halted in most areas when the weather worsened on Tuesday. Strong winds and high swells are expected off Malta until Friday, and may divert vessels with options to bunker in Gibraltar and other ports instead.

The wind direction is forecast to switch from easterly to westerly as the winds calm through Friday, and could enable suppliers to deliver stems in more sheltered bunkering area off Malta’s east coast then.

Fuel availability remains steady across grades in key Mediterranean and South African ports, including Gibraltar, Malta, Istanbul and Durban. Longer lead times are advised for HSFO180 stems in South African ports, however, as suppliers might not be able to accommodate deliveries on prompt dates.

Strong easterly winds and heavy swells could halt bunkering and create a delivery backlog in Algoa Bay over the next few days, shipping agent Sturrock Grindrod says.

Wind gusts were forecast to peak at more than 40 knots in Algoa Bay on Wednesday afternoon, and push waves up above 4 metres. Thursday could see calmer conditions, before three more periods of high winds are expected on Friday, Sunday and Monday.

Bunker operations can typically be suspended with swells of more than 2.5 metres and wind speeds of more than 25 knots, but this is up to the master’s discretion.

22 vessels are due to arrive for bunkers between Wednesday and Monday next week, some of which face delays, Sturrock Grindrod says.

Photo credit: ENGINE
Published: 28 October, 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

6 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

6 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

6 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