Business

Argus Media: Denmark, US urge IMO to set ambitious shipping targets

IMO’s current target is for a 50pc reduction in overall GHG emissions by 2050 compared with 2008 levels, and for a 70pc cut in CO2 emissions over the same timeframe.

Published

5 years ago

November 3, 2021

Admin

Caroline Varin of global energy and commodity price reporting agency Argus Media on Monday (1 November) published a report of Denmark and US encouraging the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to set more ambitious targets for IMO 2050:

Denmark and the US today urged the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to set more ambitious targets to achieve zero emissions in shipping by 2050, at a side event during the UN Cop 26 climate conference.

Denmark prime minister Mette Frederiksen said that to succeed in reaching zero emissions in shipping by 2050, efforts needed to be combined with the private sector and needed to be cross-border.

“We do not have all the answers yet, but we know the importance of setting binding targets,” she said, pointing at the IMO.

The IMO’s current target is for a 50pc reduction in overall greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050 compared with 2008 levels, and for a 70pc cut in CO2 emissions over the same timeframe.

Full decarbonisation of the shipping sector is fully achievable and will be a significant contributor to efforts to reach the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C, US special presidential envoy for climate John Kerry said today. But Kerry said shipping was also one of the areas that “fallen behind historically”.

“Clearly shipping is part of the solution,” he said.

Shipping giant AP Moeller-Maersk, which has joined calls to push the IMO to do more in terms of legislation in the shipping sector, acknowledged the fact that net zero fuels were not widely available at present.

“We have secured the fuel for our first net zero vessel due in 2023 and we are working very hard to secure the fuel for the next deliveries in 2024,” fleet and strategic brands chief executive Henriette Hallberg Thygesen said.

Maersk has ordered nine methanol container ships for delivery between 2023 and 2024. The ships will have dual-fuel engines, and can also run on conventional low sulphur fuels.

Denmark’s Frederiksen said that establishing the capacity to produce green fuel is a challenge. “But we will be able to find the necessary solutions, and at the same time, if we are not willing to put these goals on the table, I do not think we will be able to find the answers,” she said.

The ICS last month, ahead of Cop 26, also urged the IMO to set a target for net zero emissions by 2050.

Photo credit and source: Argus Media
Published: 3 November, 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

14 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

14 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

14 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