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Delays at ports in China and other countries leading ships to skip Singapore for bunkering

A total of 3,020 ships representing a 14% on year decrease called at the city state to refuel in March, leading to bunker fuel sales in Singapore to decline.

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Delays at ports in China and elsewhere have prompted container and bulk ships to give Singapore, Asia’s largest refuelling hub, a miss to save time by rescheduling their stops, reported Bloomberg on Monday (18 April). 

According to preliminary data released by the Maritime Port Authority of Singapore, a total of 3,020 ships called at the city state to refuel last month, a drop of 441 from a year earlier. 

This led to bunker fuel sales falling to 3.77 million tons in March, the lowest seasonally since 2016. 

Singapore is regularly a refuelling stop for container ships passing through the Strait of Malacca as they take goods from Northeast Asia to Europe. 

Bulk carriers transporting iron ore from South America to China and tankers carrying crude oil from the Middle East to Asia also pass the port.

However, fewer ships are stopping at Singapore as congestion at ports globally prompts companies to skip the transit hub between East and West. 

Shanghai’s lockdown to contain China’s worst Covid outbreak since 2020 also worsen the situation with congestions at the world’s largest container port, as queues of vessels are building there and at other stops handling diverted shipments. 

The situation has put more pressure on already strained global supply chains.

Traders commented that hundreds of bulk ships are waiting off East China to unload raw commodities and are likely to refuel in Guangzhou or Zhoushan instead of Singapore to save on time. 

Ships are “locked up waiting in congested areas” and are burning lots of fuel, Jeremy Nixon, chief executive officer of Ocean Network Express reportedly said on April 5.

According to notices sent to customers, MSC Mediterranean Shipping Co. cancelled sailings from Europe to Asia that would have included stops in Singapore. 

“Given all the circumstances, it would make more sense to bunker in China than make a call in Singapore, unless the price of bunkers is absolutely monumental,” said Esben Poulsson, chairman of the International Chamber of Shipping, as quoted by Bloomberg.

“It’s no secret that China wants to compete with Singapore in this business.”

He said some ships will also refuel at Fujairah in the UAE when prices are cheaper than in Singapore.

Related: Singapore: Marine fuel sales continue downward trend, falls 10.2% on year in March

Earlier Singapore bunker volumes in 2022 can be found below:

Related: Singapore: January bunker sales volume down 10.4% on year, show MPA data
Related: Bunker fuel sales at Singapore fell 15% on year in February 2022

 

Photo credit: Manifold Times
Published: 19 April, 2022

 

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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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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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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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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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