Business

ENGINE: Americas Bunker Fuel Availability Outlook

Bunkering resumes across Florida following Hurricane Ian; Houston prices recover from multi-month lows; high winds trigger suspension in Zona Comun.

Published

4 years ago

October 6, 2022

Admin

Resized Americas Bunker Fuel Availability Outlook image for Manifold Times

The following article regarding bunker fuel availability in the Americas region has been provided by online marine fuel procurement platform ENGINE for post on Singapore bunkering publication Manifold Times:

6 October 2022

By Nithin Chandran

Bunkering resumes across Florida following Hurricane Ian
Houston prices recover from multi-month lows
High winds trigger suspension in Zona Comun

North America

Prompt VLSFO and LSMGO grades are readily available in the Houston area, New York and off the US Gulf Coast. Houston’s VLSFO and HSFO benchmarks fell to multi-month lows last week, but have recovered some of these losses mainly due to Brent’s rebound.

Houston’s HSFO price fell to rare discounts to Rotterdam’s in rent days, before flipping back to a small premium now. Its HSFO availability has held up better than Rotterdam’s, where prompt supply can be hard to find.

Houston’s bunker fuel availability has remained normal in recent weeks, compared to other bunker hubs where lead times can be more unpredictable.

Prompt LSMGO can be tight in the Galveston Offshore Lightering Area (GOLA). The earliest delivery dates with two suppliers are about 4-5 days ahead. One supplier expects LSMGO resupply this week, which should ease some pressure.

Port operations and bunkering resumed in Florida’s Port Tampa Bay last weekend, following Hurricane Ian that hit the port last Wednesday. Several suppliers have resumed offering deliveries for prompt dates and for dates further out in Port Tampa Bay. But bunker deliveries by truck have been difficult to find this week as some trucks have been deployed for disaster relief work after Hurricane Ian struck, sources say.

Supply remains tight across all fuel grades in US West Coast ports. Some suppliers in Long Beach and Los Angeles are fully booked for prompt dates. A lead time of at least 10 days is generally recommended to ensure timely deliveries.

VLSFO supply for prompt dates in San Francisco is tight. The earliest delivery date with a supplier is 6-8 days out, another can offer deliveries from 20 October.

Availability remains steady across all grades in Mexico’s Manzanillo. Recommended lead times for HSFO, VLSFO and LSMGO are about five days out.

Caribbean and Latin America

All grades are tight for prompt dates in Panama’s Cristobal. The earliest delivery dates with two suppliers are about 8-9 days for VLSFO and LSMGO. Several suppliers have insisted that deliveries should instead be made in Balboa, where prompt VLSFO and LSMGO grades are slightly easier to find, sources say.

VLSFO and LSMGO availability is tight for prompt dates off Trinidad. The earliest delivery date with two suppliers is about 6-7 days out. Another can offer LSMGO only.

Availability of VLSFO and LSMGO is normal in Colombia’s Santa Marta. The earliest delivery date with a supplier there is about three days out.

VLSFO supply is normal in Brazil’s Rio Grande. A supplier can offer deliveries for prompt dates, sources say.

Prompt VLSFO and LSMGO is tight at the Zona Comun anchorage in Argentina. Recommended lead times are about 7-8 days. Bunker operations were suspended on Wednesday at Zona Comun amid high winds. Calmer weather conditions could allow bunkering to resume on Thursday.

But wind speeds are set to pick up again with potential bunker disruptions from Friday evening through to Sunday.

Photo credit and source: ENGINE
Published: 7 October, 2022

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

12 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

12 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

12 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